How To Use A Home Pregnancy Test Kit
Home pregnancy test kits vary in their sensitivity to hCG. Most test kits are best used about one to two weeks after your period was due. Always strictly follow the manufacturers instructions. Generally speaking, most home pregnancy tests follow the same basic principles:
- You collect urine in a small container and dip the test strip into the urine. Alternatively, some kits offer a test strip that you hold under your stream of urine.
- To improve accuracy of results, it is best to test your urine when you first get out of bed. Early morning urine is concentrated and contains higher levels of hCG than at other times of the day.
- Most test strips indicate the presence of hCG by the appearance of a coloured line or dot.
- Results are rapid. Most test kits take only a few minutes to complete.
- Most kits come with a second test strip. This allows you to test again at a later stage.
Other Reasons For Missing Your Period
Here are some possible reasons for missing your period but having negative pregnancy tests:
- Menopause
- Starting a new birth control method
- Illness
- Hormone imbalance
If you suspect one of these reasons may be disrupting your normal menstrual cycle, and you have a negative pregnancy, test then you should speak to a health professional.
What Medications Are Safe To Take If You Are Pregnant
Because some medicines are not safe to take during pregnancy, it is important that a woman take only those that have been approved by her doctor. If anyone tries to prescribe a new medicine, the woman should explain that she is pregnant and ask if the drug is safe. The US Food and Drug Administration previously listed five categories of pharmaceutical labeling for drugs which might be used during pregnancy. A doctor or pharmacist can provide advice on the safety level of medications before a pregnant patient begins their usage. Doctors will often use category B and C medications if it is felt that the potential benefit of the product outweighs any risks. Few conditions during pregnancy can be treated adequately with category A medications. The FDA categories were instituted in 2015.
- Category A – Safety established using human studies
- Category B – Presumed safety based upon animal studies
- Category C – Uncertain safety with animal studies showing an adverse effect
- Category D – Unsafe with evidence of risk that may, in certain clinical circumstances, be justifiable
- Category X – Highly unsafe with risk or use outweighing any possible benefit
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Basal Body Temperature Charting
Basal body temperature can predict and suggest ovulation. This only works if you have been taking your temperature in the days prior to ovulation. Temperature elevation begins one or two days after ovulation and persists for several days.
Temperature elevation identifies prior ovulation it does not diagnose pregnancy.
How To Tell If Youre Pregnant Without A Test: 5 Simple Ways
Diagnostics of pregnancy are often based upon the changes in the state of health a woman experiences. At first, she is just suspicious, and then the suspicions are proved true by the appearance of the typical features which usually accompany pregnancy. In particular cases, its not possible for a woman to know for sure if she is pregnant with the help of express tests, hormonal tests, or doctors examination, so many women are interested in ways how to tell if youre pregnant without a test at home during the early pregnancy stages.
The ways to know if youre pregnant by the early symptoms or with the help of traditional methods dont guarantee complete accuracy and exact results, but they can help to make a decision if you have to visit a health professional.
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Calculate Using A Dating Ultrasound
A dating ultrasound, which measures the length of the fetus from crown to rump, is an accurate way to estimate your due date or how far along you are if completed within the first trimester . Most women have a pretty good idea of when their last period was, within a day or two, says Scurfield. If a woman has no idea, youll want to try to get her as early as you can. Once you get past 13 weeks, the variability of the growth is such that an ultrasound can be off by a week or so.
Pee Is For Pregnant: The History And Science Of Urine
Let me look at your pee, and Ill tell you your future.
For over 3000 years, women wondering if theyll be mothers have heard some variation of this phrase. In the first known pregnancy tests, ancient Egyptian women urinated on barley or wheat seeds: quickly sprouting seeds indicated pregnancy. While this may sound like pseudoscience, several modern studies have shown that it works pretty well, correctly identifying70-85% of pregnancies.
The ancient Egyptians were certainly onto something, as modern pregnancy tests work in much the same way: they detect a hormone in urine. But its still taken thousands of years of scientific progress to get us from peeing on seedsand waiting a week to see if they sproutto the fast, convenient pregnancy tests found in all pharmacies today.
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What Is Gestational Age
The term gestational age basically means how far along into a pregnancy you are. Gestational age is counted by starting with the first day of your last menstrual period .
Gestational age can be kind of confusing, since it measures pregnancy from your last period about 3-4 weeks BEFORE youre actually pregnant. Common knowledge about pregnancy says it lasts 9 months, and its true that youre usually pregnant for about 9 months. But the way pregnancy is measured makes it a little longer. A typical full-term pregnancy ranges from 38-42 weeks LMP around 10 months.
Many people cant remember the exact date of their last menstrual period thats totally okay. Your nurse or doctor can find out the gestational age using an ultrasound.
How Soon Can You Tell If Youre Pregnant 24 Really Early Signs
So you think you may be pregnant? But how early can you tell if you really are?
Honestly, its hard to pinpoint exactly how soon you can tell if youre pregnant because each one of us is unique.
Some women get a 6th sense about it straight away , while others dont know until months down the line.
Most of us will fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes and well start to get an inkling we may be pregnant within 2-4 weeks of conception.
Pregnancy symptoms are usually very mild in the first couple of weeks making them hard to detect without a blood or urine test. Usually, the first sign is a late period. But what other early signs and symptoms will give you a clue to whether youre pregnant or not?
And how early can you take a pregnancy test to find out for sure?
How reliable are urine pregnancy tests, what can you do to make sure you get an accurate result and what might cause a false positive?
What about super early symptoms, like before implantation? Is that even possible?
We answer all your questions below.
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When To Take A Pregnancy Test
A pregnancy test measures the amount of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin hormone in the urine. This hormone is only present when a woman is pregnant. As the egg grows into an embryo, the cells that surround it and later become the placenta produce hCG.
Planned Parenthood indicate that it is best to take a pregnancy test as soon after a missed period as possible. A pregnancy test may return a positive result as early as 10 days after a person has had sex without contraception. However, it typically takes about 3 weeks before theres enough hCG in the urine to produce a positive pregnancy test.
There are many affordable and reliable pregnancy tests available over-the-counter or online. A home pregnancy test can tell whether you are pregnant in a few minutes, with most claiming to offer almost
1 week after a missed period. Results of a pregnancy test are either positive or negative.
If a woman takes the pregnancy test earlier than 1 week after a missed period, it may give a negative result, even if the person is actually pregnant.
If a person believes they are pregnant despite a negative test result, they should repeat the test after 1 week.
To avoid a false negative result, check the pregnancy tests expiration date, and carefully follow the written directions.
How Pregnancy Tests Work
Pregnancy tests detect the levels of a hormone called hCG in your urine . This hormone is produced during pregnancy. It is present in your bloodstream and your urine.
In early pregnancy, the amount of the hormone in your system increases. The later you leave it to take a pregnancy test, the higher the hCG levels will be.
The earlier you take the test, the more likely you are to get a ‘false negative’ result. A ‘negative’ result is where the test shows up as negative even though you are actually pregnant.
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Is It Possible To Find Out The Exact Day You Got Pregnant
Knowing the exact day of conception is a difficult thing. Sperm can live in a womans body for up to five days, making it impossible to calculate exactly when conception occurred. It is not a fine science.
In addition, women ovulate anywhere from 11 to 21 days after the first day of their last period. Ovulation varies from person to person. This is the reason why due dates are calculated from the 1st day of the last period and not from the date of conception.
Even though this can seem confusing, it has become a standard way of measuring pregnancy and calculating a due date. The due date is normally set at 40 weeks after the first day of the womans last period.
Fortunately, an ultrasound can help to determine gestational age. Ultrasounds are usually most accurate between the 8th and the 18th weeks. With an ultrasound, even women who dont have periods at all can tell how far along they are.
Since only about 5% of all babies are actually born on the due date, this is only an estimation to begin with. Each baby and woman are unique individuals with their own timetables for birth. All we can do is give them a general idea what to expect!
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The Appropriate Time To Tell Your Husband Youre Pregnant
A surprise pregnancy announcement to your husband may require you to carefully consider the best ways to tell your husband youre pregnant. You may be nervous telling your husband you are pregnant if it happens to be your first pregnancy after a long period of child expectation.
The best time to tell your husband youre pregnant is at your discretion. Some people choose to tell their husbands early, immediately after they receive a positive pregnancy test result. Some people choose to wait for a couple of weeks and so on.
People who often have miscarriages may be skeptical about telling their husbands early in case of any negative occurrences along the line. But in all of these, a pregnancy announcement to the husband is one of the most valuable and exciting pieces of information your husband would ever receive.
Therefore, telling your husband youre pregnant as soon as you find out by using a pregnancy test strip or after concrete confirmation from a professional is the best way to go.
The information would give your husband so much joy and enable him to commence with the necessary preparation to make your pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing period a stress-free one.
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Metallic Taste In Mouth
The experience of constantly having a metallic taste in your mouth is a pregnancy sign that I am familiar with. It’s difficult to describe, but your mouth feels like you have been sucking on a coin.
It’s a pregnancy symptom that is very common and is unmistakable
You may also experience other strange flavors in your mouth, like saltiness, rancidness, or just a bad taste in general.8
How To Tell If Youre Pregnant Without A Test By The State Of Your Body
The conception is usually accompanied by a physiological and hormonal adjustment of the female organism which becomes evident to a woman due to the changes in her state of health and figure. Some of these symptoms are specific signs of pregnancy and can be indications that the conception has happened.
1. Dizziness and fainting. The early pregnancy stages may be accompanied by dizziness or clouded consciousness. These sensations are a sign of changing hormonal background and an increase in certain hormones. Such a state not only can tell you about your pregnancy, but it also can be a consequence of stressful events or overtiring.
2. Raised body temperature . The increase in body temperature is one of the pregnancy symptoms, especially if its level has been constant for a long period of time. It happens because the developing embryo situated in the fallopian tubes before the implantation into the uterine wall is interpreted as a foreign object by the organism of the mother and that triggers the immune system. Thats why your body temperature is raised. During the first trimester of pregnancy, doctors consider 98.6°F a normal body temperature. This sign can be of help when you suspect youve conceived if any infections or inflammations are eliminated.
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Can You Feel Pregnancy Symptoms Soon After Sex
While some pregnancy symptoms start very early, most of the time, you won’t notice anything right away. Anything that happens immediately after having sex, like spotting or increased discharge, is usually not related to pregnancy.
Other than a missed period, pregnancy symptoms tend to really kick in around week five or six of pregnancy. One 2018 study of 458 women found that 72% detected their pregnancy by the sixth week after their last menstrual period. Symptoms tend to develop abruptly.
This is about two weeks from when you missed your last period . Occasionally you will hear of someone who has symptoms right around their first missed period.
Changes In Cervical Mucus
Have you become a student of your cervical mucus? Then check it out now: If it becomes creamy and stays that way after ovulation, its a good sign youll have a positive pregnancy test.
As your pregnancy progresses, youll also notice increased vaginal discharge, called leukorrhea. This thin, milky-white discharge is normal and healthy, but speak to your practitioner if it appears lumpy or thick.
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Your Pregnancy Tests Are Negative But You Still Think You Might Be Pregnant
While false positives are very rare, false negatives with pregnancy tests are more common. Here are some reasons you could be getting a negative pregnancy test.
If you’ve gotten negative results multiple times but are experiencing the signs of pregnancy, and especially if you’ve missed your period, then you should see a doctor who will be able to conduct additional tests and see what might be going on.
Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Its not all about what you add to your routine its also about what you take away. When trying to conceive, its more important than ever to avoid alcohol, drugs, and tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.
These habits can affect a baby and lead to genetic disorders, respiratory problems, low birth weight, fetal alcohol syndrome, and other health issues.
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Your Common Symptoms This Week
You can’t attribute any symptoms you feel during week 1 to pregnancy just yet. This week’s discomforts are brought to you by menstruation.
As such, you might be feeling the way you usually do during your period. Some people don’t have many menstrual symptoms at all, but for others, fluctuating hormones can lead to typical issues such as:
- Bloating
- Moodiness
Can I Be Pregnant And Still Have A Period
Pregnant women can have some light irregular bleeding during pregnancy, but it should not be like a normal period. Some women can confuse this for their period because often it can come right around the time she was expecting her normal period.
The irregular bleeding or spotting that can occur during pregnancy is often a dark brown or a light pinkish color. It should not be enough bleeding to fill pads or tampons over a few days. If you are bleeding enough to fill pads and tampons, then this would be a good indication that you are probably not pregnant. Learn more about getting pregnant while on your period.
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Estimated Date Of Delivery
The estimated date of delivery, also known as expected date of confinement, and estimated due date or simply due date, is a term describing the estimated delivery date for a pregnantwoman. Normal pregnancies last between 38 and 42 weeks.Children are delivered on their expected due date about 4% of the time.
It’s More Than Just Breaking The News
Talking to a parent about your pregnancy takes more than just one conversation. In the coming months, you’ll probably have many different feelings all at once. Sometimes, you might feel shock and disbelief. Other times, you may be scared or worried. You may feel sad, guilty, or angry at yourself. At times, you might also feel excited and happy.
Some days you might be ready for what’s ahead. Other days, you may feel totally unprepared and confused. You’ll have many emotions to sort through and it will take time. It helps if you can talk to a parent about all these thoughts and feelings.
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