What Is A Period
A period is the time in a woman or girl’s monthly cycle in which her unfertilized egg leaves her body, along with blood and uterine tissue lining . This normally takes about five days. Periods usually first begin at or around age 12 in the US. They may begin between the ages of 10 and 15, though some may also start sooner or later than this. A period begins Day 1 of the menstrual cycle.
When To Take A Pregnancy Test
A positive pregnancy test will usually show up around the time of your missed period, on average 14 days after ovulation/fertilization, and rarely earlier than 9-10 days after fertilization/ovulation. Even if the pregnancy test is negative, there is still a chance of getting a positive pregnancy test later on.
What Are Five Common Signs Of Pregnancy
There are several signs of early pregnancy that you could experience. Not everyone will have all of these symptoms, and some women may not feel any of these things. Pregnancy symptoms throughout the entire pregnancy can vary dramatically between women. Its important not to compare your pregnancy to someone elses.
Common early pregnancy symptoms can include:
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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.
How Long After Ovulation Can I Take A Pregnancy Test
So youre an expert at tracking your ovulation? You may be able to take a pregnancy test earlier. But if you take it before 8 days past ovulation , you are likely to get a negative testeven if you are truly pregnant.
The reason why has to do with when implantation occurs. While its technically possible for implantation to occur any time between six and 12 days after ovulation, 85 percent of the time it occurs between eight and 10 DPO, and it only occurs at 6DPO 0.5% of the time.
Even if conception has occurred, the fertilized egg does not start producing hCGthe hormone that pregnancy tests detectuntil after implantation is complete.
After implantation, hCG levels start doubling roughly every 48 hours. Baseline hCG levels, early pregnancy hCG levels, and hCG doubling time vary from woman to woman and from pregnancy to pregnancy. Along with the date of implantation, these factors will influence how early you can get a positive pregnancy test.
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Are All Pregnancy Tests The Same
Different pregnancy tests have different sensitivities. The lower the sensitivity, the earlier a pregnancy test becomes positive. Sensitivities are indicated in mIU/mL, the lowest amount of hCG in the urine that tests positive. A sensitivity of 20 mIU/mL requires one-half the hCG level to be positive when compared with a 40 mIU/mL sensitivity level, and it may become positive several days earlier than the pregnancy test with higher sensitivity. Make sure you read the package of the pregnancy test to determine your pregnancy test’s sensitivity.
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What Is The Accuracy Of Early Pregnancy Tests
Many home pregnancy tests claim to be 99 percent accurate. However, home pregnancy tests differ in the ability to diagnose pregnancy in women who have recently missed a period. If you have a negative test but think you might be pregnant, repeat the test one week after your missed period or talk to your health care provider.
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How Much Delay In Periods Is Normal
Menstrual cycles are considered normal if they last anywhere between 21 to 35 days. Your cycle can vary, but your period is considered late after five days from the date when you expected it to come. A period is considered to have been missed if its been six weeks or more since the first day of your last menstruation.
What Kind Of Preparation Is Needed
If you are planning to have a baby, you should start noting down your menstrual periods. If they are regular, it is quite easy to detect a missed period. But if the periods are irregular, you need to note down the dates for a few months.
Also, know when you can take a pregnancy test with irregular periods and how it can be done. In irregular cycles, it is recommended that you should get the urine HCG test 36 days after her last period or 4 weeks after the sexual intercourse. There are urine HCG test kits, which are available to buy. Initially, you should read and understand the instructions mentioned in the kit.
There is a specific duration of time to wait before reading the result. This duration might vary among different brands. It is recommended to use an early morning urine sample. Or at least she should not have voided urine for 4 hours duration. Dont drink too much fluids to increase the amount of urine, because it may dilute the concentration of HCG present in urine. Dip the kit/strip in urine and wait for sometime as mentioned in the instructions. You will find a control showing what a negative test result will look like.
Dr. Chauturi is an experienced writer specializing in English language and Medical Sciences, and degree holder in Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at University of Sri Jayewardenepura currently awaiting her internship.
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Which Pregnancy Test Can You Take Earliest
Currently, pregnancy tests that give positive results earliest are the Clearblue Early Detection pregnancy test and the First Response Early Response, both of which can be taken 5 days before your period is due.
But the accuracy of the test at that point is only around 62% not a lot more than tossing a coin. The accuracy then increases each day, until it reaches 99% accuracy the day before your period is due.
The other tests offer more than 99% accuracy on the day your period is due. Test before this and you do risk false results, or continued hope that theyre false results.
One mum, Twinkletwin, in our forum explains, This month I vow NOT TO TEST AT ALL! Im on month 18 and its scary how much I must have spent on negative pregnancy tests over the last year and a half!
I always do it, but this month I vow not to. It gives you false hope, because you always think maybe I tested too early.
And Twinkle81K puts it like this: So all I can do now is wait which is sending me quite crazy. Because clearly I have money to waste I have done a test nearly every day and today another BFN .
I will keep you all updated on my insane wait for AF or BFP whichever arrives first
What Are Pregnancy Tests
Pregnancy tests are used to verify if a woman is pregnant. They work by checking urine or blood for a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin that the body produces when pregnancy occurs. This hormone is released when a fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus, signaling the beginning of pregnancy.
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Do I Have To Take The Test First Thing In The Morning
Not unless you are testing early. Otherwise your test should detect hCG any time of day if you are pregnant. However, if youre taking a pregnancy test before your missed period, its better to test first thing in the morning when concentrations of hCG are the highest.
You can also dilute the amount of hCG in your urine by drinking too much liquid, so try not to drink more than you usually would.
What Happens If You Are 2 Weeks Late On Your Period
Stress for instance, can delay your periods and even cause you to miss them. At least, when your periods are two weeks late, you should be able to test positive if you are indeed pregnant or get your periods if they were just delayed. The positive results of a urine pregnancy test are reliable. Negative results are not so reliable.
While its possible that you may be pregnant, it also possible you missed your period for 2 days due to stress, exercise or late ovulation. You should take a pregnancy test a weeks after period. My period is 2 days late, should I take a pregnancy test?
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Normal Cause Of A Missed Period During The First Year
- Skipping periods is common during the first 1 to 2 years after they start. This is due to not releasing an egg each month.
- This is most likely the cause if less than 2 years since the first period
- Has missed periods in the past or has had only 1 or 2 periods
- Otherwise healthy
- No signs of pregnancy such as breast tenderness, breast swelling or nausea
Will A Pregnancy Test Work 4 Days After A Missed Period
A pregnancy test works on the principle of detecting a hormone in your urine called human chorionic gonadotrophin. This hormone is produced as a result of the implantation of the embryo in early pregnancy. The production of this hormone usually starts one week after zygote formation.
Most doctors and medical professionals suggest that the best or most accurate pregnancy test result is obtained on the first day of a missed period, and during the morning when urine is moderately concentrated. Human chorionic gonadotrophin can be easily detected at this time. You can also wait until day five or six of a missed period to take a pregnancy test. This will eliminate the chance of false-negative pregnancy test results to a large extent. Also, since many women experience irregular menstrual cycles, it is generally suggested to take a test two weeks after unprotected sex to be sure.
So, in a nutshell, yes, a pregnancy test will work after four days of a missed period and it should be an accurate test since levels of human chorionic gonadotrophins will be high during this time if you are pregnant. However, it is worth noting that if your test reveals a negative result but you continue to experience early pregnancy symptoms, you should request a clinical pregnancy test from your doctor to rule out any confusion.
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When You Can Do A Pregnancy Test
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, from as early as 8 days after conception.
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.
When To Get A Blood Test
You might be wondering if you should also have a blood test to check if youre pregnant. It is something to consider if you get a positive or negative result. Your doctor may order a test, or you may be thinking about ordering one yourself. Many labs now allow people to order and pay out of pocket for their blood work.
Before you do that, there are a few things you should know. First of all, there are two types of pregnancy blood tests: qualitative and quantitative.
- Qualitative tests measure whether hCG is present in your blood or urine. They pretty much give a yes or no answer as to whether youre pregnant. Or, more accurately, whether you have enough pregnancy hormone to get a positive result. Home pregnancy tests are qualitative.
- A quantitative pregnancy test measures the amount of pregnancy hormone in your blood. This is sometimes called a beta hCG test. These are usually done to see how a pregnancy is progressing. For example, your doctor may order a beta hCG test on Monday, and then another test on Wednesday or Thursday. The purpose would be to see whether the level of hCG is increasing as expected or not. This might be important if you had trouble conceiving, have a history of early miscarriage, or an ectopic pregnancy is suspected.
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My Period Is Late: Is There Any Reason To Be Worried
Numerous studies show that a slight variation in the length of your menstrual cycle is normal.
More than 100 women with average menstrual cycle lengths took part in a large-scale study that showed interesting results: cycle variability of more than seven days was observed in 42.5 percent of the participants! As you can see, a one to two-day variation is very common.
Another large study conducted by Flo and the University of Adelaide showed that only about 16 percent of the participants had a 28-day cycle, even though you might have been told this was the typical length for menstrual cycles.
How Long Should I Wait Before Taking A Pregnancy Test
Pregnancy tests only work when the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin has built up in your system. This usually happens around 11 12 days after ovulation. Most women get their period around 14 days after ovulation.
If you dont know when you ovulated, you can approximate this window by taking a pregnancy test two days before your period is due.
Keep in mind that if you test before your period is due, you may get only a very faint line on the pregnancy test.
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Late Period: Everything You Need To Know
Having a late period might come as a surprise, especially if youre not trying to get pregnant. Should you take a pregnancy test? The truth is, there are many reasons for late periods other than pregnancy. Your health, age, diet, stress, and exercise can all affect the regularity of your menstrual cycle. In this article, well look at the most common late period causes and go over some common questions about delayed menstruation.