Most tests are sensitive enough to detect hCG in your urine from the first day your period is due.
So you may end up needing to do another test in a few days' time to be sure. At this stage, levels of hCG in your system will still be relatively low. Testing too early may not give you an accurate result, although some tests claim to be able to detect pregnancy four days before your period's due (NHS 2015). When should I do a pregnancy test?Hard though it is to wait, it may be less frustrating if you test after you've missed a period.
You may also be able to get one free of charge from your GP, community contraceptive clinic or local sexual health clinic. Where can I get a pregnancy test kit?You can buy pregnancy tests, without prescription, online and at pharmacies and supermarkets. The amount of hCG in your bloodstream doubles every two days to three days as the embryo grows and its placenta develops. HCG tells your body not to have a period (Society for Endocrinology 2015). When the embryo implants, which is when you're said to have conceived, it produces more hCG. These placenta cells start producing hCG in small amounts even before the embryo implants in your womb (uterus). Some of the new cells within the embryo will develop into your baby's placenta. This new cell quickly divides, and each newly created cell divides again and again, growing into the embryo. That's because levels of the hormone gradually build up as new life begins.Īs soon as your egg and a sperm fuse, their genetic material combines to create a new cell. If you test too early, before you've even missed a period, there may not be enough hCG in your body for a home pregnancy test to pick up. How do pregnancy tests work?A home pregnancy test detects the presence of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), in your urine. Find out more about when to take a pregnancy test and how accurate they are. So, by the time your period is a week or two weeks late, you should get a definite result. Keep in mind though that hCG levels peak at about week six of pregnancy (Gnoth and Johnson 2014, Society for Endocrinology 2015). Some tests claim to be able to detect pregnancy four days before your period's due. Home pregnancy tests work by looking for a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in your wee.
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