Is It Possible To Get A False Negative Pregnancy Test Result
Yes. The most common cause of a false negative result is performing the test too soon after conception, when hCG levels are too low to be detected. If your ovulation happens later than usual, this means that the first day of a missed period can be too early to get an accurate result .
Waiting a week or two after a missed period before performing a urine pregnancy test will minimize the chance of getting a false negative.
Rarely, false negative results can be caused by very high hCG levels associated with pregnancy-related tumors.
Pee On A Stick Or Into The Cup
Now, time to take the test. If youre peeing into a cup, grab your cup and go.
If youre peeing on a stick, remember to take the cap off the test, if it has one.
Take a quick peek at the directions again and note how long you need to pee on the stick and how you should hold the test when taking it. Then do it.
If you peed into a cup, and youre ready to dip the strip in, take note of how long you should do this for.
If you have a cartridge style test, you may need to use a dropper to drip the urine into the test well.
Once youre finished, set the test aside and wash your hands.
Those Extra Pounds Matter
The next thing I want to talk about is something to do with our weight, as there appear to be many women who do not know that being overweight can affect your cycle, and it is therefore another reason to not automatically assume you are pregnant and take a test before you have even missed a cycle.
Being overweight can make your period late or make it not show up at all sometimes. This is because your body tends to produce more fat cells, causing it to become harder to ovulate, if you do at all. This may cause late ovulation, which is why it is a good idea to wait to take a test until after your expected period is due.
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Free Online Pregnancy Test
How do you know that you are pregnant? Youll know when you miss a period, followed by a home pregnancy test that comes positive. But you might want to know about your pregnancy even before you miss your period.
If that is so, you could take MomJunctions 13-question free pregnancy test to check for the symptoms and find out if you are pregnant.
Note: This quiz is not intended to replace medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and is only for informational purposes. The best way to confirm your pregnancy is to have a pregnancy test.
Dont Solely Rely On Pregnancy Tests
Pregnancy tests are typically accurate at signaling a pregnancy. However, you shouldnât rely on those results alone. An ultrasound will confirm the pregnancy and check the early health of the embryo to see if the pregnancy is viableâthis assurance is important for women who are experiencing pain or bleeding during pregnancy and those who have had previous miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies.
Visit TheSource.org today to schedule a free pregnancy test or ultrasound to confirm your pregnancy. Our clinic staff is available to help you tackle these early days of pregnancy and give you the support, medical care, and the guidance you need.
Davina is a native of Grenada and a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. She’s a content specialist with a passion for empowering women to thrive and reach their full potential. In her free time, Davina is probably painting, reading, or baking something unnecessarily sweet.
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Set The Test Aside And Set Your Timer
Now, take a quick look back at the directions and see how long youre supposed to wait before looking at the results.
Its probably about 3 minutes. Set your timer and walk away. It is tempting to watch the test change colors, but all you will do is go through 1,001 moods in those 181 seconds. But dont walk away from the test without setting a timer. If you do that, you might stay away too long.
Reading a test significantly after the maximum wait time can result in false positives or negatives.
What can you do while you wait, without losing your mind? How about…
- Watch one of your favorite funny YouTube videos.
- Go make yourself a cup of tea.
- Put in a load of laundry or load/unload the dishwasher.
- Turn on a song that makes you happy, do a little dance. No sad songs, please! Dont torture yourself.
When To See A Healthcare Provider
If you are unsure about the results of a home test or want to verify the results, then visit a healthcare provider. You can get confidential urine or blood testing at most providers and clinics. If you are transgender, there are many organizations worldwide that can help you to find a trans-friendly ob/gyn.
If youâve had a negative pregnancy test and you havenât had a period in more than 90 days, make an appointment to see a healthcare provider. Tell them about your previous periods, cycle length and heaviness, and any other symptoms you have noticed. They may want to run a few tests to check if your cycle is being affected by another health condition.
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Age Is A Factor In This As Well
Many of the things on this list may not affect all women. Our lives are different, and therefore our bodies have to go through various situations that are unique to each and every one of us. But, there are some physical things we must all go through at one point or another.
The next point I am about to discuss is something that will affect all women at one point in our lives, and therefore change our menstrual cycles, as well as some other things. This is the point in our lives when we stop being able to reproduce.
The final stage of this change is known an menopause, however that is not what I am talking about here. If you are a female in your late fourties or early fifties and you are experiencing a different menstrual cycle than usual, you might be in the beginning stages of menopause, which is known as perimenopause.
Symptoms can include many things. Some of these are lighter periods, heavier periods, hot flashes, and mood swings, as well as shorter or longer periods. This can last from months up to years before it is full blown menopause. So, before you run out to buy that pregnancy test, at least wait to see if Aunt Flo arrives on time or a day or two later than usual.
How Accurate Are Home Tests
Home tests are very accurate when used correctly. Some kits come with two tests because mistakes do happen. If you take a test too early, you may get a false negative .Your body needs time for the hormone to rise to a high enough level to be detected in a test. If the test comes back negative but you still think you could be pregnant, wait a few days and test again.
False positives are possible but rare. A positive pregnancy test is a pretty good indication that you are pregnant.
Affordable and accurate pregnancy tests can be purchased online for a fraction of drugstore prices, learn more or watch a demonstration video.
Want to Know More?
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Early Pregnancy Symptoms Vs Pms: Whats The Difference
Most early pregnancy symptoms before your period are strikingly similar to the side effects of PMS. However, youll only notice changes in your areolas if youre pregnant. A consistently elevated BBT and creamy vaginal discharge post-ovulation are also both relatively reliable signs of conception, but theyre certainly not foolproof.
Otherwise, the only way to know if other early pregnancy symptoms are due to a baby or PMS is to hold out until you can take a pregnancy test.
How Likely Is It To Get A False Negative Pregnancy Test
Most home pregnancy tests are highly accurate if you wait until the first day of your missed period to take it. If youre testing earlier, your chances of a false negative result are higher. The reasons why you might get a false negative include:
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What Happens If You Test For Pregnancy Before Missed Period
If you take a pregnancy test before you have missed your period, you increase your chances of getting a false negative result. This means the test will read negative when you actually are pregnant, so experts recommend waiting until you have already missed your period to prevent false-negative test results.
Tips For Taking A Pregnancy Test Correctly
Periodically, a pregnancy test will yield a false positive, this means that the test shows positive when a person is not actually pregnant. When this happens, it is almost always as a result of user error. Maybe you were flustered or anxious when taking the test and read the result wrong, or maybe you took the test incorrectly. Regardless of the cause, the resulting inconclusive or incorrect test result is probably the last thing you want, especially if the potential pregnancy is unexpected.
Thankfully, there are some simple things you can do to ensure the accuracy of your at-home pregnancy test results and avoid any test-related confusion or anxiety.
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/5the Right Time To Take The Test
Studies show that taking the pregnancy test in the morning gives you a more accurate result. Thats because the urine is more concentrated in the morning, so the hCG concentration is higher. This means you are more likely to get a positive result if youre pregnant. This is more effective when your period is late. The chances of false-negative are high when you take the test before your monthly period cycle and you are drinking a lot of water and your urine is diluted.
Pregnancy Tests Urine And Blood
There are two types of pregnancy tests one uses a urine sample, the other a sample of blood. Both pregnancy tests detect the presence of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin . This hormone is produced by the placenta shortly after the embryo attaches to the uterine lining and builds up rapidly in your body in the first few days of pregnancy. It is this rapid shift in hormones that trigger most of your pregnancy symptoms.
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Dont Take A Pregnancy Test Too Soon
If you had unprotected sex or think you might be pregnant, itâs tempting to consider taking a pregnancy test before your missed period. Resist the temptation. HCG or Human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced by cells that are surrounding a growing embryo, which eventually forms the placenta after implantation. The elevated presence of hCG is used to signal pregnancy. However, hCG takes time to build up in the body. So, even if implantation of an embryo occurred on a Monday, if you take a pregnancy test on Wednesday, it may still give a negative result.
Donât take a test too earlyâwait until at least 10 days after a missed period to take a pregnancy test otherwise you might get an inaccurate result. If you think you might be pregnant and already missed your period, wait 3 days and take another test.
What Are The Different Types Of Pregnancy Tests
There are two main types of pregnancy tests: urine and blood tests. Urine tests are typically done at home though you can have a urine test done at your healthcare providers office while blood tests are done by your provider.
At-home pregnancy test
An at-home test usually uses your urine to look for hCG in your body. According to most manufacturers, at-home pregnancy tests are about 99% effective when used as instructed. Thats about the same accuracy rate as urine pregnancy tests done in your healthcare providers office. These tests are available in most pharmacies or grocery stores and they dont need a prescription. They can take different amounts of time depending on the brand. Its important to read the instructions on these tests before taking them.
When you go to take an at-home pregnancy test, youll typically place one to several drops of urine on a prepared chemical strip or place the strip in the urine stream. The strip is specially-designed to detect hCG. For many of these tests, hCG can be detected in your urine about 10 days after conception. However, taking it after your missed period reduces the chance of getting a false-negative.
There are a few things to keep in mind when you take a home pregnancy tests, including:
Blood test
A blood test for pregnancy might be done in special circumstances, such as for women who are having infertility treatments or when the healthcare provider thinks there might be a problem.
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Sickness Has An Affect As Well
Phantom pregnancies, as well as high amounts of stress, can affect the female body in a number of unpredictable ways. These include making women gain or lose weight, have an increase or decrease in appetite, and have late periods, as well as missing our periods altogether.
In addition to those, there is another reason to wait to take a home pregnancy test. Another highly common reason that your period is late might be because of a cold, or a more serious type of illness.
Though there are other reasons that any kind of illness can make us delay or completely skip that time of the month, one of the more well known ones is stress. As I discussed earlier, a bit of stress can really throw us off of our normal cycles, and this is no different when it comes to the physical stress our bodies go through when our immune systems are down.