Among the most frequent questions that come to us from our readers are those related to the pregnancy test. A few days ago we told you how to do it and today we will talk about one of the biggest concerns: when to take the pregnancy test.
The date the pregnancy test is performed is decisive for the result to be reliable. It is a very special situation and sometimes anxiety can play a trick, so it is important to do it at the right time.
Blood test
The most widespread test is the home pregnancy test purchased at the pharmacy, but many women opt for a blood test, because it is more accurate and reliable even before the first lack of menstruation occurs.
Both one and the other are able to detect the presence of the chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG), the pregnancy hormone. One does it in the blood while the other in the woman's urine. Quantitative blood tests detect very small hCG levels, from 1 mIU / mL when urine tests have an average sensitivity of 20 mIU / mL.
Therefore, since the embryo is implanted in the walls of the uterus and the body begins to produce the pregnancy hormone, it can be detected through a blood test. An accurate result can be obtained in a few hours, as well as determining the exact age of the fetus. You can also tell if it is an abnormal pregnancy, such as an ectopic pregnancy (outside the uterus), a molar pregnancy or a possible miscarriage.
Home pregnancy test: if you are regular
We go now with the pregnancy test that can be bought in pharmacies. As we have said, try to buy a test as sensitive as possible, that is to say that it detects the lowest concentration of hCG. The majority detect from 20 mIU / ml (International units per milliliter of urine).
For women with regular cycles it is easier to calculate the right time. As expected, the woman has ovulated mid-cycle and implantation of the embryo has occurred between six and ten days after fertilization. Therefore, with a delay of one day on the date scheduled for the arrival of menstruation the chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) levels, which begin to rise after implantation, will already have reached a detectable level in urine.
Therefore, although there are tests that promise a result from the first week after conception, the most reliable is to perform it with at least one day late. Although it can be done at any time of the day, it is also recommended to use the first urine of the day, which has a higher concentration.
Pregnancy test: if you are not regular
For women who do not have a regular cycle, the detection of pregnancy is a bit more complicated than for the previous ones. There are very intuitive women who have the certainty of being pregnant even before the pregnancy test confirms it, but since not all are capable or need a scientific confirmation, almost all resort to the pregnancy test.
Performing the test one day late may be too early to obtain a reliable result. You may have ovulated later than you thought, therefore it is advisable to obtain a reliable result. one week after the scheduled date for your period.
What can happen if the pregnancy test is done early?
If you take a pregnancy test ahead of time, what can happen is that throws a false negative. That is, the test says that you are not pregnant when in fact you are. What happens is that the presence of the chorionic gonadotropin hormone is not yet detectable in the urine because its levels are very low.
However, the amount of hCG in the urine in the first weeks of pregnancy can vary greatly from one woman to another. Therefore, if the test has been negative and the absence of menstruation persists, you should repeat the test after three or four days.
Implantation bleeding
It is important that you know that in some women there may be false bleeding or implantation bleeding that is confused with menstruation when it is actually a sign of pregnancy. Unlike this, implantation bleeding is a slight bleeding that lasts one or two days, at most three (never more than five) and is brown.
