Women who are sexually active and don’t use any protection can easily become pregnant. It is essential to confirm the pregnancy as early as possible because of several reasons. They include:
- Registering for antenatal care
- Terminating unwanted pregnancy
- Avoiding the things that you should not do during the pregnancy period
- Starting the things that you should do during the pregnancy
In case you miss the period, you can confirm pregnancy at home by using various home pregnancy methods. Most home pregnancy test methods include the process of detecting the existence of hormone, hCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in the urine. You can do this by using various pregnancy test kits, which are available in various pharmacies.
Uterine wall cells that secrete the hCG hormone forms the placenta and then the fertilized egg implants in the uterus. This process occurs between 6-12 days after the conception and then the hCG levels will increase rapidly.
Sometimes the home pregnancy test kits when used immediately after you miss the period may not recognize the lower hCG levels and give you negative test result. When you get the negative result and still you have the doubts of pregnancy, then wait for a few days and repeat the test. After every 2-3 days, hCG levels will become double and the test may become more accurate. But there are some highly sensitive kits that can detect even very low hCG levels and can give positive test result during the first week only.
Prior to using the home pregnancy test kit, you should be careful about a few things to make the test results accurate. They include:
- Avoid drinking too much fluid before doing the pregnancy test as water can dilute hCG levels.
- Use the first urine in the morning as it is the most concentrated on and gives an accurate test result.
- Note the test result within 5 minutes of doing the test.
The results of the home pregnancy test are as accurate as any other clinical test for pregnancy. Read the directions carefully and accurately follow them, then you will get the right test result. The only difference is home pregnancy tests are performed using urine sample and clinical tests are performed using blood or urine sample. Even after you get a positive result with your home pregnancy test kit, it is advisable to undergo a clinical test. In order to eliminate the risk of multiple and ectopic pregnancies, you should undergo all the clinical tests that your doctor prescribes.
