How Early can I take a Pregnancy Test For Accurate Results?

Perhaps the most common question among women who are trying to conceive is how early can i take a pregnancy test. Thanks to the advancements in science and technology, women need not bear the torturous agony waiting for two weeks to get straight answers. Gone were the days when women have to actually wait for the signs and symptoms of pregnancy before suspecting conception; the common question changed from how do i know if I’m pregnant to how early can i take a pregnancy test. First, it is important to note that pregnancy testing is affected by six common variables namely the HCG sensitivity of one’s chosen test method, the woman’s rate of HCG production, the dilution of the urine sample, the time of the day, the determination of ovulation and finally the actual time of implantation.

For the woman asking how early can i take a pregnancy test, it is important to note that the mechanism of action of pregnancy tests is by detecting the presence of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a reproductive hormone that flows from the placental tissue to the woman’s bloodstream after the fertilized egg is settled in the womb. The presence of HCG can be detected both in a woman’s blood and in her urine. Knowing when a woman will ovulate helps a great deal in determining when to start testing since the egg, once fertilized usually takes a few days, a week, or more before nestling on the uterus; unless the egg hooks up in the uterine wall, HCG won’t be released. Utilizing an ovulation calculator helps one in determining when the perfect time is for taking the test. Home pregnancy test kits usually detect a woman’s pregnancy hormone three to four days before she misses her period; this is done by simply dipping the stick in the urine sample and waiting for around two to three minutes before checking the change in color.

HCG level growth differ from woman to woman; depending on where the embryo is implanted and on the embryo itself, one may produce HCG at a slower or faster rate. What every woman should know though is that after every two days, the HCG hormone level doubles; this means that after having a negative result, one should recheck after a few days. Test sensitivity is a controllable variable; this refers to the chosen test kit’s ability to pick up even the most minimal traces of HCG. Some tests are able to detect a hormone level as low as 10 mIU/ml/hCG; generally, over the counter pregnancy test kits can detect HCG level at the level of 50. Taking pregnancy tests too early can lead to false negative readings; false positive results can occur when a woman tries to read the results too long after the indicated time on the package. That is because some pregnancy test kits change in color even without detection of HCG; these are called evaporation lines. For a woman asking how early can i take a pregnancy test, it is also important to remember that taking the first voided urine as a sample and avoiding too much fluid intake can help with the accuracy of the pregnancy test.