Pregnancy tests look for a Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) that develops in a person’s body during pregnancy. These tests can use pee or blood to look for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG). Usually, pregnancy tests in the form of test strips give reliable results. If you get a positive result and are accompanied by signs of pregnancy, then it is almost certain that you are pregnant.
However, sometimes, there are mistakes in how to do the test and read the results. Thus, it is natural that for this reason you doubt the accuracy of the test strip. So, how accurate are pregnancy test strips? Here are the most common explanations about pregnancy tests.
What Are the Types of Pregnancy Tests?
The first symptom of pregnancy is not having your period on time. Even though that is not the only reason. Thus, you need to take a pregnancy test to know whether you are pregnant or not. There are two types of pregnancy tests that can help you find out accurate results, namely:
1. Urine test
Urine tests can be done at home or at the doctor’s office. Apparently, many women choose to use pregnancy test strips themselves at home about a week after a missed period with the most common pregnancy symptoms. If you use pregnancy test strips to know whether you are pregnant or not, you must follow the steps according to instructions for the most accurate results. After testing, you can confirm the test result by visiting a doctor or midwife.
2. Blood Test
Blood tests can detect pregnancy earlier than pregnancy test strips, or about 6 to 8 days after ovulation. However, this blood test takes longer to get the result than with a home pregnancy test.
How Accurate is a Pregnancy Test?
Before using pregnancy test strips, you should wait at least a week after a late period which is with general pregnancy symptoms to get the most accurate results. Also, results may be more accurate if you take the test in the morning, when urine is more concentrated. Based on the research, use of test strips has an accuracy of about 99% like the Clearblue digital pregnancy test.
However, the accuracy of a home pregnancy test depends on:
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- Have you followed every instruction carefully?
- When is the right fertile period and how soon does fertilization occur?
- How long does it take to take a pregnancy test after a missed period?
- Pregnancy test sensitivity.
How are the Results from a Pregnancy Test?
1. Positive Result
You are pregnant if you get a positive result. This applies no matter if the line, color, or the strip is faint. If you get a positive result, you must visit a doctor or midwife immediately to discuss the next steps. In very rare cases, you can also have a false positive result. It means that you are not pregnant but the test shows a positive result. Usually, this happens if there is blood or protein in the urine, or the use of certain medications.
2. Negative Result
If you get a negative result, it means that you are not pregnant. However, you may be pregnant if:
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- Pregnancy test strip past its expiration date.
- Doing the test incorrectly.
- Doing the test too quickly.
- Urine is too thin due to consuming a lot of fluids.
- Taking certain medications
If the pregnancy test is negative, you can try repeating the test about a week later. Some test product instructions strips recommend this to make sure the accuracy of the pregnancy test.
By the way, what if you get two different results? For this case, you must visit a doctor or midwife immediately. In addition, we highly suggest you to do a blood test because it is the perfect solution to confirm accurate results.
