A missed period is sometimes the first sign a woman has that she may be pregnant. For other women, however, they begin to experience pregnancy symptoms a week or two before a period is even due. It can be nerve wracking to wait and find out whether or not you are pregnant. You are probably asking the question: how soon can I take a pregnancy test?
How early can you take a pregnancy test?
Home pregnancy tests work by detecting the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is present in a woman’s body during pregnancy. The body starts producing the hCG hormone as soon as the fertilized egg implants to the uterus, which happens six to ten days after conception. However, because implantation happens at a different time for every woman, early pregnancy tests are not always accurate.
Many pregnancy tests say that you can take the test as early as the first day of your missed period. But that doesn’t mean you’ll get accurate results if you test this early. Several brands claim that their home pregnancy test is accurate 99% of the time. But what they don’t mention is that the test is not that accurate if you test early. The first day of missing your period is still fairly early for taking a home pregnancy test.
If you decide to test early, just remember that you may get an inaccurate test result. If you simply can’t wait, go ahead and test early, but keep in mind that you will probably want to test again in a few days to verify the earlier results. The most common problem if you test too early can be a false negative, so it doesn’t hurt to test again later.
Which brands are best for early pregnancy tests?
Which brands work best for testing early? It’s tough to say. Many people swear by the e.p.t. brand, and others believe First Response works best. First Response was actually shown in a study to be the most sensitive to the hCG hormone. But other brands make improvements to their products all the time. It’s very difficult to say for sure which brand works best.
If you test too early, your body may not have produced enough of the hCG hormone to provide an accurate result on a pregnancy test. If you are pregnant, hCG levels in your body will rapidly rise in the first few days after implantation. If you take an early pregnancy test and get a negative result, you may wish to retest after a few days. Home pregnancy tests rarely give a false positive, but it does occur, so keep that in mind. The only truly accurate pregnancy test is done in a doctor’s office.
If you do test early, know that the home pregnancy test can give a false negative or positive. Test again in a few days to give yourself a more accurate reading. If you do end up with a positive on your home pregnancy test, set an appointment with a doctor or a midwife to verify your results.