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 , 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.
You Waited Too Long To Read The Results
This doesnt happen very often mainly because when most of us take a pregnancy test we want to know the test results as soon as possible!
But if you have peed on a stick, left it, and then come back to it a few hours later and found a negative test result, this cant be trusted.
Home pregnancy tests must be read within the time frame listed in the instruction booklet or on the packet.
If you leave a test standing for a few hours after use it can dry out the urine on it evaporates, and a positive result can disappear.
You Are Pregnant With Twins Or Triplets
Carrying two or more babies causes a woman to produce very high levels of hCG and at-home pregnancy tests may not be able to detect it because there’s actually too much. This is known as the “high-dose hook effect.”
Dr. Gronowski explains that hCG tests work by forming a “sandwich” with two antibodies as the “bread” and the hCG molecule as the “meat.” When the hCG concentration is too high, it saturates both antibodies, and there are so many molecules that the antibodies can’t form a sandwich, resulting in a negative pregnancy result.
Some women report positive results after diluting their urine with water, however, a blood test at the doctor’s office is a better option for accuracy.
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You Are Pregnant With Multiple Embryos
This is another rare reason for a negative home pregnancy test during the early days of pregnancy.
If youre pregnant with twins or triplets, your hCG levels usually rise very quickly after conception much faster than they do when you are pregnant with a single embryo.
This can mean that you get a positive result on a home pregnancy test earlier but the window of opportunity is smaller.
In fact, home pregnancy tests have a top limit of hCG that they can detect, and when the levels in your urine rise above that top limit, you can get a false negative.
In other words: if youre pregnant with twins or triplets you can get a negative pregnancy test because your pregnancy hormones are too high for a standard HPT to detect.
So if youve missed a period and are experiencing pregnancy symptoms, ask your doctor for a blood test or ultrasound to check for pregnancy.
How Soon Can You Take A Pregnancy Test
The sensitivity of each pregnancy test is variable, but the soonest the most sensitive test can detect a pregnancy is at least 12 days after conception. Conception happens around the time a woman ovulates and, in a typical 28-day cycle, ovulation happens on or around day 14. This means that if you have a 28-day cycle, the earliest time you can take a test and get an accurate result is four weeks after the first day of your last period.
Long and Irregular Cycles
Many women have long or irregular cycles. If you have not been carefully tracking your ovulation cycles, or if you can’t predict it, it is hard to say when the earliest possible time is for an accurate result is. For women with long or irregular cycles, or if you don’t know exactly what your cycle is, it is best to wait for the day the next cycle is supposed to begin to take the home test.
Wait a Week
It’s hard to play the waiting game, but try to wait for a week to see if your period starts. If not, take a new test.
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Can You Be 6 Weeks Pregnant And Still Have A Negative Test
There are frequent cases where a woman has been six weeks pregnant with a negative pregnancy test and had a healthy baby about 34 weeks later. If youre sure of your dates but still testing negative at home, it might be worth visiting your gynecologist for a blood test or an early ultrasound. Although its usually too soon to see a heartbeat, a transvaginal ultrasound can often find the yolk sack where your tiny embryo might be growing.
Dont Rush The Process
Wait until you have to pee naturally, and not right after consuming a lot of liquids. Just pee normally, following the instructions, and then set the test aside and wait the full amount of time suggested.
Staring at the test anxiously can cause you to react too soon, or even throw it away before its done processing. It can also lead to dropping, bumping, or damaging the stick, making the whole ordeal a waste of time.
Its always best just to wait patiently, as hard as that may be.
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Diseases Such As Pcod
Diseases of ovary such as ovarian cancer or PCOD affect the normal functions of ovaries. So due to cysts or benign tumors ovaries wont be able to ovulate and hence you wont get your periods.
For those of you who dont know the reason for getting periods, the bleeding is due to sloughing off the vaginal lining. This vaginal lining is for implantation of the embryo if the egg and sperm fertilize.
In cases of PCOD and other illness, you wont be able to get pregnant too. Hence when you are suffering PCOD, you will get a late period and negative pregnancy test.
Youre Pregnant But Your Hormone Levels Are Too Low For An At
OK, so you waited until you actually missed your period and the test still came up negative?
Time to consider the time of day you peed on the stick. If youre very newly pregnant, your hCG levels could still be on the lower side, especially later in the day when your urine is more diluted by what youve had to drink.
For more accurate results, test yourself first thing in the morning so youre using your most potent urine. Icky, but effective!
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You Didn’t Follow Instructions Correctly
Read the instructions on your home pregnancy tests package carefully so that you can administer the test properlythe test is only as good as your ability to follow the instructions! Since the tests are qualitative, this makes them sensitive to the process of testing.
Most home pregnancy tests ask you to hold a test strip in urine, and pee on it while on the toilet. Some make you dip the test strip in a clean cup where you have collected the urine .
These are the main reasons for a missed period and negative pregnancy test but there are others. Periods can be late for a number of reasons.
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.
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Negative Pregnancy Test But No Period
Absolutely! It is not uncommon for a woman to get a negative test result, when she is indeed pregnant, even when testing after her period is due.
The biggest reason for getting a negative test result is miscalculating your period. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days. If you are fortunate enough to have a regular 28-day cycle, you would count 28 days from the start of your last menstrual cycle to determine when your next period is due. The problem with this method is two-fold. One, many women do not have a 28-day cycle and two, this does not account for variations in ovulation dates and, more importantly, the date of implantation.
Wait Until At Least 24 Hours After Your Period Should Have Started
While some tests that claim to work days before your period is even due, a test cant force your body into making hCG, and it doesnt know when you ovulated.
If you decide to try those early detection tests, be prepared for a potential false negative. If you get one, relax until at least a day after your period shouldve started. I know waiting is the hardest part, but it will save you time, money, and your sanity.
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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.
If You Have An Irregular Cycle
If you donât know when your period is going to come, and the difference between your longest cycle and shortest cycle is more than 7â9 daysââthat is, if the timing your period is highly variableâââthen unprotected sex or exposure of sperm on your genitals at most times represents a higher risk because itâs harder to estimate when you were exposed.
You can take a pregnancy test about two weeks after your last unprotected sexual encounter, though waiting a few days longer will help improve the accuracy of the results.
If you are using an active form of natural birth control or are tracking fertility signs for body literacy, you will have a better idea of your timing of ovulation and can use that to assess your risk of pregnancy.
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When Is The Best Time To Do A Pregnancy Test
hCG doubles about every 48 hours in early pregnancy, so a home pregnancy test that is negative on Monday could very likely be positive on Wednesday. However, if it’s positive with first-morning urine, later on in the day, when the urine is more diluted, it could test negative. It is also important to remember that despite the advances in urine home pregnancy tests, blood tests are still the best at detecting early pregnancy.
The timing of a positive pregnancy test depends on implantation. If you are pregnant, a urine pregnancy test is not expected to be positive until 3-4 days after implantation , which is about 10 days after ovulation/fertilization, and 4 days before the next period. About 51% of pregnant women have a positive pregnancy test two days before their next expected period.
Rare Causes Of Test Malfunction
A rare, counterintuitive cause for a false negative is that you are too far along in your pregnancy. For example, if your period is weeks to months late, a pregnancy test might come up negative. This is called the variant hook effect.
Another unusual but possible reason for a false negative is that youre expecting triplets or even twins. In this case, a false negative pregnancy test can be caused by what is known as the high dose hook effect. Ironically, unusually high levels of hCG can cause a pregnancy test to give a false negative result.
A very rare cause of a false negative pregnancy test is when the hCG hormone in your body does not react with the anti-hCG chemicals in the test. In this case, you might need to wait a few more days before you can get a positive result or need to have a blood test.
You might ultimately need to have a serum pregnancy blood test or ultrasound to confirm pregnancy.
If you still haven’t gotten your period after a few more days, try the test again. If subsequent tests continue to show a negative pregnancy test result, you’ll want to talk to your healthcare provider about further testing.
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Irregular Cycles And Amenorrhea
Pregnancy isn’t the only reason you might not get your period for an extended length of time. While most people experience menstruation on a fairly regular schedule, for some, irregular timing is the norm. This can make it hard to know when a period is actually late. You might also miss a period altogether .
Taking A Home Pregnancy Test Too Soon
Another reason for a false negative pregnancy test may simply be that you took the test too early. Pregnancy tests vary in how soon they can detect hCG in your urine. It is possible that although an egg may be fertilized, your body has not started secreting enough hCG to register as positive on a test. Your body needs time for the hormone to rise to a high enough level to be detected. Most brands instruct you to wait until the first day of your missed period to test. Remember, hCG rises differently in each woman. If you suspect you are pregnant, even though the test is negative, the test should be repeated in one week.
If you are trying to conceive and your period is more than one week late with a negative pregnancy test, you should consider consultation with a fertility doctor so that you can be properly evaluated and treated, if necessary.
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When Is It Too Early To Test
It depends on the test. Some tests are sensitive enough to detect hCG in your urine . Read the instructions on the pack to understand what the brand of test youre using means by early detection. Some women still prefer to test on the day they expect their period, when all home pregnancy tests claim to be over 99% accurate.
Conception usually happens around two weeks before your period would normally be expected. If youre trying for a baby you can use an not only to know your peak fertile days, but it will inform you about your cycle, so you know when its best to take the test. This can help you feel more confident in the results you see.