Think there’s a chance you might be pregnant? Taking a pregnancy test is the first step in finding out, but knowing how a pregnancy test works and when to take one is essential for receiving accurate results.
How Does a Pregnancy Test Work?
When you’re pregnant, the placenta produces human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This hormone tells your body to stop menstruating and thicken your uterine lining.
A pregnancy test works by detecting hCG in your blood or urine. If you’re pregnant, the pregnancy test will detect hCG and give you a positive result. If you’re not pregnant, there will be no hCG, and you’ll get a negative result.
However, just because you get a negative result doesn’t mean you’re not actually pregnant—it could mean that you took the test too early when hCG levels in your body are still too low to be detected.
When to Take a Pregnancy Test
The best time to take a pregnancy test is after you’ve missed your monthly menstrual period. If you keep track of this information, testing on the day of a missed period or later will give you the most accurate results. In fact, most home pregnancy tests claim to be 99% accurate if used within this window.
If you don’t know when you’ve missed a menstrual period, it can be difficult to predict when to take a test. In this case, making an educated guess can be useful. You can do this by thinking back to your previous month’s period and counting 30 days from the first day of last month’s flow.
If you take a pregnancy test after making an educated guess about your missed period date and get a negative result, but you still haven’t started your period a week later, try testing again. Sometimes, only one day will make the difference between a negative and positive pregnancy test result.
Next Steps
Did you receive a positive pregnancy test result? Getting an ultrasound is the next step in confirming your pregnancy. This is because it’s possible to have miscarried and still receive a positive pregnancy test result.
Ultrasound is a simple scan that confirms your pregnancy and provides other essential pregnancy details you need to know before making any decision.
At Friends For Life, we offer free pregnancy testing and limited ultrasounds to give you the clarity you need right now. Contact us today to schedule your free, confidential appointment.
