Whether you are planning a family or not, as a woman it is only fair to be curious and inquisitive about how your body works. If you think that you might be pregnant and you want to pick up a home pregnancy test kit, here are few things that you should know first.
1. What gives it away?
The only two ways to find out if there is a ‘bun in the oven’ is through a urine or blood test. While a blood test is done at a lab, the urine test can be done at home or at a lab (to check hCG – Human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced by the placenta after implantation). However, in a blood test, pregnancy can be detected as early as about six to eight days after ovulation.
2. One, two…
The lines on the home kit are rather simple to read. With most tests, you place the end of a dipstick in your urine stream or immerse the dipstick in a container of collected urine. A few minutes later, the dipstick reveals the test result — often as a plus or minus sign, one line or two lines, or the words “pregnant” or “not pregnant” on a strip or screen.
3. Keep in mind
A negative result could mean two things – either you are not pregnant, or that you have taken the test too early.
4. The pill effect
Even if you are on a contraceptive pill, the test would still work (and apply). Remember that no contraceptive is 100 percent effective anyway.
5. The morning after
You can’t tell if you are pregnant immediately after you’ve done the deed. It takes 13 to 16 days after ovulation (the release of an egg) for your hCG to show up.
6. The right time
Honestly, it doesn’t matter. But as the pack suggests, and so do experts, the first pee in the morning will give you the most accurate result as it would contain high amounts of hCG.
7. False positive?
Though uncommon, it can happen if you’ve had a recent miscarriage, taken a fertility drug containing hCG, have a rare medical condition, or the kit is expired or faulty.
8. High on meds
Some medications that affect the accuracy of home pregnancy tests include sleeping pills, diuretics, anticonvulsants, infertility medications, tranquilizers and allergy medication.
9. Yes to no
Sometimes, it is possible that the home urine kit shows a positive but when you do a blood test at the doctor’s it’s a negative. These can be early pregnancy losses, so it’s best not to delay your visit to a gynaecologist as soon as you see positive results.
10. Barely there
If the second line on the pregnancy test is very faint, feel free to test again! And again, until you’re very certain.
And in case, you are planning to opt for a home pregnancy test kit, here’s our recommendation for it:
SIRONA PregRx Midstream Pregnancy Test Kit
Price: Rs. 299/-
Buy link: SIRONA PregRx Midstream Pregnancy Test Kit
Images: Shutterstock
