How soon can you take a pregnancy test and can they ever be wrong?
ONE of the easiest ways to check for pregnancy is to take a test.
Most people who take them have had key signs such as a missed period, swollen breasts or headaches.
But how accurate are the testing sticks and can they ever be wrong?
It’s important that when you take a pregnancy test, you don’t do it too early, as this could produce a false negative.
Here’s all you need to know about the best time to get a test…
How do pregnancy tests work?
After intercourse, if an egg has been fertilised it will travel into the uterus and implant itself in the uterine wall.
A woman’s fertility changes over the course of her cycle. The “fertile window” is during ovulation, around a week to 10 days a period, and the chances of getting pregnant outside of this are low.
There are some great tools that you can use to check your fertile window such as period tracker apps like Flo and Natural Cycles.
These sorts of tools are able to predict when you are most fertile. These usually work by collating data from your period, which helps the algorithm predict when your fertility levels are high.
You might also be able to spot when you’re fertile due to your temperature and the sort of discharge found in your knickers.
Around six days after fertilisation, small amounts of pregnancy hormone – human chronic gonadotrophin (hCG) – will start to appear in the urine.
This is the hormone that pregnancy tests are looking out for.
The hormone peaks weeks after conception, however tests are able to pick up tiny amounts.
How early can you take a pregnancy test?
The NHS says: “You can carry out most pregnancy tests from the first day of a missed period. If you don’t know when your next period is due, do the test at least 21 days after you last had unprotected sex.
“Some very sensitive pregnancy tests can be used even before you miss a period.
“You can do a pregnancy test on a sample of urine collected at any time of the day. It doesn’t have to be in the morning.”
If you know what day you are expecting your period, the Clearblue tracker helps you work out the first day you can take a pregnancy test.
Why is my period late?
There are a number of reasons why your period could be late or irregular that don't involve pregnancy.
Stress and dramatic weight loss can cause women to miss a period or for their periods to stop entirely.
Some women experience early onset menopause, and menopause symptoms can occur as many as 10 or 15 years before it actually starts.
Being overweight can also affect your menstrual cycle as can hormonal conditions.
If you are concerned it is best to speak to your doctor.
When’s the best time to take a pregnancy test?
You may get the best result if you take the test first thing in the morning as your urine will be more concentrated.
However, you can take pregnancy tests at any point of the day.
Can a pregnancy test be wrong?
The at-home tests are about 99 per cent accurate.
If you get a positive result, it is highly likely that you are pregnant.
This is regardless of the colour of the line or how faint it is.
“False positives” very rarely occur.
While some women may do another test hoping for a negative result, women also fear that a positive test result is wrong, if they have been trying for a baby.
A staggering 62 per cent of mums carry on taking tests, despite already having a positive result, as they worry about the health of the pregnancy or the initial test being wrong – spending an average of £30 on tests.
Meanwhile, a negative test is more likely to be incorrect than a positive one. This is called a “false negative”.
There are a few circumstances where you still could be:
- You took the test too early
- The test is past its expiry date
- You didn’t take the test correctly
- Your urine is too diluted as you drank a lot of fluid before taking the test