10 Things You Need To Know About Home Pregnancy Tests
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There's quite a range of home pregnancy tests available in the market which test for levels of the pregnancy hormone hCG in the urine. These tests will measure how much hCG is present and report it in mIU per millilitre.
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Do not completely rely on these to give you absolute results as they are not 100% accurate at all times.
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The more sensitive tests claim to detect pregnancy earlier than others - and are therefore more expensive. More sensitive tests will detect anything over 20 mIU per ml and report it as positive, giving a result from as early as eight days after conception; while most tests will detect around 50 to 100 mIU per ml before returning a positive result.
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The best time to test is first thing in the morning, as hormone levels are likely to be non-diluted, although most tests these days will give results any time of day.
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Avoid drinking lots of water before testing so you don't dilute the urine too much.
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Before you take the test, make sure you read the instructions carefully - when you are anxious or excited it is easy to miss out on steps, so take a deep breath and be as calm as possible.
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Use a watch or clock with second hands if possible, so that you are definite about the time that has passed. You may even want to write down the time that the test was started if you are feeling very scatty. Make sure that you check the test result within the recommended time limits.
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Hold the pregnancy test stick into the urine mid-stream. This can be a bit tricky and possibly messy. It’s ideal to take a container/cup into the loo, collect a little urine mid-stream and then dipping the test in to reduce the risk of missing the right stream or making it a messy affair.
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The general rule on a pregnancy test is - one line (the control) means NO - you're not pregnant; two lines mean YES - you are pregnant.
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Sometimes pregnancy tests show an 'evaporation line' which can confuse the issue. Either you can check the instructions again or if need be, take another test with a fresh stick. Multiple tests can provide more defined results.
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