The pregnancy test is a small biochemical system designed to detect pregnancy at home, so the test is very simple and easy to use. The definition of pregnancy is based on the detection of a special hormone in the woman's urine, namely human chorionic gonadotropin, abbreviated as hCG. The accuracy of such tests is 98%, but this is only by observing the rules of using the pregnancy test. Therefore, carefully read the instructions on the package or in the insert.
The pregnancy test is recommended to be performed one week after the delay of the month. In order to be sure of the results of the test, you should repeat it in a week.
The principle of working with most pregnancy tests for home use is the same - it's contact with urine. For some tests, you need to collect urine in a container and enter the test itself into it to a certain level designated by the manufacturer. Another is enough drops of urine, which is applied to the test with a special pipette, enclosed in the kit. The time of detection of presence or absence of hCG in urine in a woman differs for tests of different manufacturers and can take 0.5-3 minutes. After the time specified in the instructions, you can safely watch the result.
In most pregnancy tests, the result is displayed in the form of indicator bars. The first bar is a control indicator, on the basis of which you can conclude whether the test is working at all. The second strip is an indicator of pregnancy, its presence means that there is hCG in the urine and the woman is pregnant. The absence of a second strip indicates that there is no pregnancy. Pay attention to the fact that the intensity of the color of the second strip (the indicator of pregnancy) does not matter. The presence of even the pale band confirms pregnancy. Test producers recommend that the procedure for detecting hCG be repeated after several days, despite the first result. And this is justified by the fact that with each day of pregnancy the level of hCG gradually increases, and hence the sensitivity of the test system too.
Can I trust the results of a home pregnancy test? There is no reason to doubt the results of the test, if it was carried out in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. The reliability of the results can be achieved by observing the following rules for using the test:
- Accurate performance of the actions described in the instruction.
- In the morning portion of urine, the concentration of hCG is highest, therefore it is recommended to perform the test in the morning.
- Hasty reading of the test result. It is shown that from the moment of contact of the test with urine should pass 10 minutes.
- Day of test use. The level of hCG in the blood and urine of a woman is gradually increasing with each day of pregnancy. And in the first days after the delay of the monthly, its level is not yet high enough to be detected by the test.
The instructions for some test systems refer to the result with an accuracy of 99% in the first days of the delay. However, it is shown that in fact, at such an early period, pregnancy can not be detected using home tests. Therefore, follow the recommendations of specialists - to do a pregnancy test after at least a week after the delay of the monthly.
And, finally, there is no point in doing a pregnancy test before the first day of the delay, because the hCG level is not enough to be detectable by the test. Therefore, most likely, you will get a negative result, the reliability of which can not be said. This situation is based on the fact that hCG begins to be synthesized after the fertilized egg is implanted into the wall of the uterus. This event does not always coincide with the period of ovulation of the menstrual cycle. Therefore, when doing a test at a very early gestation period, you will get a negative result on hCG, but you will not detect the presence or absence of a fertilized egg.
If the results of a repeat test a week later indicate that you are not pregnant, and you feel and suspect the opposite, you should see a doctor.