How Many Days Before Missed Period Can I Test

I Have Taken The Test But No Blue Line Has Appeared In The Control Window What Should I Do

If it is more than 10 minutes since you took the test, then the test has not worked. This may be because:

• The colour change tip was not kept pointing downwards or the test stick was not laid flat after urine was applied.
• Too much or too little urine was used.

Test again, using a new test stick, taking care to follow the instructions. You may wish to collect a sample of urine and test using the Collected Sample method.

Where Can I Get A Pregnancy Test

You can buy a pregnancy test at your local pharmacy, drugstore, grocery store, and some convenience or dollar stores. Pregnancy tests are usually inexpensive they can cost as little as a dollar. Sometimes you can get a free pregnancy test at certain health centers.

You can also get a pregnancy test from your nurse or doctor, community clinic, or local Planned Parenthood Health Center. Most health centers use the same urine pregnancy tests that you can buy in stores. Sometimes they use a blood test to test for pregnancy, but thats usually only under special circumstances.

But be careful when looking for a reliable health center, because there are fake clinics out there called Crisis Pregnancy Centers. Crisis Pregnancy Centers give free pregnancy tests and claim to offer information and help. But theyre run by people who may not be medical professionals, and dont believe in giving you honest facts about pregnancy and all of your options. Crisis pregnancy centers are often located very close to Planned Parenthood health centers or other real medical centers, and have similar names they do this to confuse people and trick them into visiting their center instead.

Your nearest Planned Parenthood health center can help you find a safe place to get a pregnancy test in your area.

How Late Can A Period Be Without Being Pregnant

Some people have their period every 28 days like clockwork. But most people will experience a late or missed period at least once without being pregnant, and thats perfectly normal.

For many, a late period can trigger thoughts of potential pregnancy. But a late period doesnt necessarily mean that youre pregnant.

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Other Causes Of Pregnancy Symptoms

In very early pregnancy, symptoms are usually mild. Due to this, it is easy to mistake pregnancy symptoms for normal aches and pains.

Hormonal shifts that happen as a womans period approaches may cause symptoms that also appear in pregnancy for example, breast tenderness and swelling. Some women with PMS can experience these symptoms ahead of every period.

In some cases, a woman may still experience the symptoms of early pregnancy despite not being pregnant. Possible reasons for this include:

When Can A Pregnancy Test Be Taken

Pregnancy tests may be taken any time after a womans menstrual period is late.

A woman may also choose to test after implantation bleeding has occurred. Implantation bleeding is an early sign of pregnancy. It occurs when a 6 to 12-day-old fertilized egg attaches to the inner lining of the uterus, causing light vaginal bleeding or spotting. About one-third of women experience implantation bleeding, which is normal and typically happens near the time of a womans next expected menstrual period.

About four to five days after implantation bleeding, HCG levels in the body reach detectable levels in the blood. For at-home urine pregnancy tests, it may take up to 7 days for HCG levels in the urine to reach detectable levels for testing.

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Pros Of Early Pregnancy Tests

These early detection tests may offer advantages in some circumstances. You may want to discuss your testing plans with your doctor first.

Early Detection

Except for having a physician order an early hCG blood test, which is usually done only when there are medical reasons to detect pregnancy as early as possible, early home pregnancy tests are the fastest way for you to find out whether you are pregnant during a particular menstrual cycle.

The most sensitive tests on the market can potentially give you a positive result four to five days before your period is due, meaning you don’t necessarily have to wait for a missed period, or watch for other pregnancy symptoms, to find out whether you are pregnant. However, there is a significant chance of getting a false negative with these tests.

Need to Start or Stop Medications

Very early testing can be helpful if your physician plans for you to start or to discontinue any medications as soon as you discover you are pregnant.

Birth Control Failure

Early pregnancy tests may also be helpful if you were not intending to conceive but had a birth control failure around the middle of your cycle, and you want to know as soon as possible whether you are pregnant so that you can determine your desired course of action.

Pregnancy Lifestyle Changes

How Accurate Are Urine Tests

Urine tests or home pregnancy tests are around 97% accurate when done correctly. Home pregnancy tests are great to use because they can be done at home, they are usually low in cost , private, they give a fast result, and are easy to use.

However, if done incorrectly or taken too early, the result can be inaccurate. If you get a negative result and still have symptoms of pregnancy , wait a week and take another test or contact your doctor so you can have a blood test done.

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How Reliable Are The Symptoms

Pregnancy symptoms vary for everyone. They also are easy to confuse with PMS. Thats why its impossible to tell whether youre pregnant on symptoms alone.

Your best bet is to take a home pregnancy test or see a doctor if you suspect youre pregnant and have already missed your period.

Home pregnancy tests are fairly reliable. But you may occasionally get a false-positive test. This can occur for a number of reasons, including having a chemical or ectopic pregnancy, or even taking certain medications.

Follow a positive home pregnancy test with a doctors visit for a urine or blood test to confirm the pregnancy.

Brand Name Versus Generic Pregnancy Tests

Home pregnancy tests, both brand name and generic, are very accurate at detecting the HCG hormone and any positive result, even a faint line, can be considered positive. HCG is only produced by a pregnancy any positive result indicates a pregnancy.

You dont need a serum pregnancy test to confirm pregnancy. Both urine and blood detect HCG, although the blood test is more sensitive and can detect HCG levels at much lower levels than a urine test. In certain situations, your doctor may want to perform a blood HCG test but its not typically needed to confirm a pregnancy.

Although most tests advertise 99% accuracy, the ability of a particular brand to detect HCG at levels less than 50 ml may vary. Some brands may be better able to detect lower levels of HCG than others. If your HCG level is more than 50 ml, which is the detection rate of most tests, even generic tests will detect a pregnancy accurately.

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Other Causes Of A Missed Period

A missed period can occur for many reasons, including:

• Period delay: If a woman ovulates a few days later than usual, this may delay her period by a few days.
• Hormone disorders: Numerous conditions can cause hormonal imbalances that delay ovulation, or even suppress it, resulting in a missed period.
• An early pregnancy loss: A chemical pregnancy, or early pregnancy loss, can sometimes cause a positive test that a negative test then follows. In some cases, the late period that occurs is an early pregnancy loss.
• Malnourishment: Women who are very underweight or eating too few calories may not ovulate, which can cause their periods to disappear. Doctors refer to this as amenorrhea.
• Perimenopause: A woman entering menopause may ovulate less frequently, causing fewer periods. This stage is known as perimenopause.

I Previously Tested Pregnant But Have Tested Again And Got A Not Pregnant Result Or My Period Has Started What Does This Mean

Whilst the test is over 99% accurate at detecting the pregnancy hormone from the day of your expected period, its possible to get a pregnant result and find out later that youre not pregnant . This may be due to natural loss during the early stages of pregnancy, known as early pregnancy loss, which sadly is not uncommon, as around 1 in 4 pregnancies end in early pregnancy loss. If you do get unexpected results, ask your doctor for advice.

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Can I Do The Test Wrong

Its important you read the instructions that come with your test carefully and follow them. This way you can be sure you can trust the result. Some tests are easier to read than others for a test that gives a result in words such as pregnant or not pregnant, is clear whereas visual tests where you have to interpret lines can be harder to read and can leave you wondering whether youre pregnant or not. If you doubt youre reading the result correctly and the uncertainty makes you feel anxious, then get a test that is easy to read, like the Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test, so you can be sure of the result you see.

You can see what a negative pregnancy test result looks like in our infographic below.

Whats The Difference Between Home Pregnancy Tests And The Tests At A Doctors Office

The main hormone you are testing for is human chorionic gonadotropin , which is detectable in blood or urine. The concentration of hCG doubles every 29 to 53 hours during the first 30 days after implantation of a viable, intrauterine pregnancy a slower rise in concentration of hCG is suggestive of an abnormal pregnancy or early miscarriage .

The âpee on a stickâ type of home test measures whether your hCG passes a threshold amount, and gives you a positive or negative answer. These tests often give a negative result if the test is done too early after a missed period.

If you do a home pregnancy test and get a negative resultâââbut you still donât get your period one week laterâââthen itâs a good idea to follow-up with another test.

Healthcare providers often offer both urine tests and blood tests for hCG. The urine test offered is very similar to a home pregnancy test, but the results tend to be more accurate due to reduced error. A blood test will give you a precise count of your hCG levels. Because the blood needs to be analyzed by a lab, you will need to wait longer to find out the results.

As the blood test gives more detailed results, it is possible to detect things such as an ectopic pregnancy or an early miscarriage.

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How Do You Do A Home Pregnancy Test

There are many different types of home pregnancy tests and they cost between £6-12. Most of them work by telling you to urinate onto a small stick.

There are different ways to collect your urine for the test. Depending on the test you choose, you may have to:

• Collect your urine in a cup and dip a testing stick into the liquid
• Collect your urine in a cup and use an eyedropper to move a small amount of fluid into a special container
• Place the testing stick into the area of your expected urine stream so that it will catch your urine midstream

After the recommended waiting time has passed, the tests will display your results either as a change in colour, a line, a symbol, such as plus or minus, or the words pregnant or not pregnant.

If a line or plus symbol appears, you are pregnant. It doesnt matter how faint the line or plus symbol is, the result is positive.

Most brands will advise you to repeat the test in a few days, no matter what the result.

If your first result is negative, it doesnt mean youre not pregnant. There might not be enough hCG in your body yet take it again in a few days.If your first result is positive, youre almost definitely pregnant. False positives are very rare, although they do sometimes happen, especially if you are on certain medication.

Other Early Signs Of Pregnancy

These early pregnancy symptoms tend to appear around or after the time that you miss your period, usually sometime between weeks 4 and 9. But again, every woman and every pregnancy is different, so you may not experience these symptoms at all, while other moms-to-be may notice them a little earlier.

Missed period

It might be stating the obvious, but if you’ve missed a period , you’re probably suspecting pregnancy, and for good reason. A missed period is one early pregnancy symptom all expectant moms experience!

Bloating

Having trouble buttoning your jeans? Early pregnancy bloating is hard to distinguish from pre-period bloat, but it’s an early pregnancy symptom that many women feel soon after they conceive.

You can’t blame that puffy, ate-too-much feeling on your baby yet, but you can blame it on the hormone progesterone, which helps slow down digestion, giving the nutrients from foods you eat more time to enter your bloodstream and reach your baby.

Unfortunately, bloating is often accompanied by constipation. Getting the right amount of fiber in your diet can help keep you regular.

Heartburn and indigestion

For many women, heartburn is a frustrating symptom that can appear sometime around month 2 of pregnancy. Its caused by the hormones progesterone and relaxin, which relax smooth muscle tissues throughout your body, resulting in food moving more slowly through your gastrointestinal tract.

Medications like Tums and Rolaids can help, as can chewing sugarless gum.

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How To Use A Home Pregnancy Test