How Much Does The Test Cost
The cost of pregnancy testing depends on several factors, including a persons insurance coverage, the type of pregnancy test, and where the test is performed.
If the pregnancy test is ordered by a doctor, insurance normally covers most of the cost, except for copays and deductibles. Its important to check with your health insurance and health care provider for more information about specific costs.
How Accurate Are Blood Tests
Pregnancy blood tests are 99 percent accurate.
If you want to be more precise about your condition, it is best to go for quantitative blood test. Qualitative blood test will simply answer yes or no. However, quantitative blood test doesnt just tell you if you are pregnant, but also checks if your pregnancy is healthy and normal. Keep in mind that your hCG levels are high during the first four weeks of gestation and then gradually decrease as the pregnancy progresses.
After knowing this, you may want to know which kind of test is more accurate: blood test or urine test?
As discussed above, blood test is highly accurate. Compared with that, urine test may not be that accurate. Based on a study presented at the Scientific Assembly of the American College of Emergency Physicians, urine hCG test could miss early pregnancy.
In fact, around six percent of pregnancies showed a negative result in urine test but came back with a positive pregnancy result after blood testing.
Nonetheless, it is not entirely the urine tests fault. Experts suggested that recent miscarriages could play an impact of the discrepancy of results wherein the urine test detected normal hCG levels while the blood test recorded otherwise.
In other words, if you want to be sure about your pregnancy, it is best to go for blood test. After all, you know the answer on how early can blood tests detect pregnancy and how accurate it is.
Using Blood Tests To Diagnose Ectopic Or Tubal Pregnancy
“An early ectopic pregnancy may yield a false negative if you test too early,” says Dr. Chen. If you have concerns about the possibility of ectopic pregnancy, discuss them with your doctor.
Ectopic pregnancies are fertilized eggs that have implanted in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. This type of pregnancy can present similar symptoms as a normal pregnancy but can be life-threatening for the woman.
A quantitative hCG blood test can help diagnose an ectopic pregnancy. They are more precise than qualitative tests and detect lower levels of hCG in the blood. In an ectopic pregnancy, hCG levels are usually lower than in a normally developing pregnancy and also rises at a slower-than-normal rate.
While an ultrasound exam may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis, the blood test can be done earlier, which is important given the risks of this type of pregnancy.
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It Is This Hormone That All Home Pregnancy Tests Detect And Some Tests Are So Sensitive That They Can Be Used Up To 6 Days Before Your Missed Period Which Is 5 Days Before Your Expected Period
How early can clearblue detect pregnancy. Pregnyl is a registered trademark of Organon USA Inc. Clearblue Ultra Early is our most sensitive test meaning you can test up to 6 days before your missed period which is 5 days before your expected period. Use our helpful when to test calculator to find out when you can test with Clearblue Ultra Early Pregnancy.
82 3 days before and 51 4 days before the expected period. In lab testing 95 of pregnant results were detected the day before the expected period 90 were detected 2 days before. 7 Using these samples it is possible to assess the proportion of pregnant women expected to have sufficient hCG levels in their urine sample to generate a Pregnant result on each.
So for example if you expect your period on 15th of the month you can test as early as the 10th. The sensitivity of the five other products was 100 mIUmL or greater indicating detection of 16 or less of pregnancies. The term missed period day is known for the day after youre expecting your period.
9 The test is over 99 accurate from the day of the expected period 8. Clearblue is known for its early detection pregnancy tests. So for example if you expect your period on 15th of the month you can test as early as the 10th.
Read more about early pregnancy testing Over 99 Accurate From the day of your expected period. 71 of pregnancies can be detected 6 days before the missed period 5 days before the expected period. Or for the most information about your pregnancy of.
Tests To Screen For Birth Defects
Today there are several noninvasive screening tests available to you in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy to assess the chances that your fetus may have a genetic disorder and/or birth defects. If you are at risk, your doctor will discuss these optional tests with you.
- Sequential Screen A two-stage screening that assesses the risk of several chromosomal abnormalities including Down syndrome. The first stage can be performed between 11 weeks and 13 weeks and 6 days. The second stage can be performed between 15 and 22 weeks.
- Maternal Serum Quad Screen A maternal blood screening test that looks for four specific substances in the blood
- Alpha Fetoprotein This blood test checks the level of AFP in a pregnant womans blood during the second trimester
- Carrier Screening Testing thats done to see if you or your partner carry a genetic mutation that could cause a serious inherited disorder in your baby
- Non-invasive prenatal testing Also called cell free DNA testing , this blood test analyzes fetal DNA circulating in a pregnant womans blood it can be performed at 10 weeks. The American Congress of Ob/Gyn does not recommend NIPT in pregnancies when there is more than one fetus .
Its important to understand that these screening tests do not diagnose a problem they only signal that further testing should be done.
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Can I Take The Test At Home
At-home pregnancy tests are a fast and convenient way to take a pregnancy test. Home pregnancy testing is very similar to qualitative urine hCG testing performed in the laboratory, but there are some important differences to be aware of:
- At-home tests have very specific instructions that must be followed exactly. When using an at-home test, follow the directions carefully. Each tests ability to detect the presence of hCG can vary based on the brand of the test.
- You need to look carefully at the test instructions about how long you must wait to test after a missed menstrual period. Tests that are done too soon may result in a negative result when you are actually pregnant.
- At-home pregnancy tests should typically be done using a urine sample taken the first time you urinate in the morning. This is when urine is the most concentrated and has enough hCG to be detected.
When used correctly, most at-home pregnancy tests produce the same result as the qualitative urine hCG test done by a medical provider.
If your test is positive, it is important to reach out to your health care provider to learn more about the next steps in your care, including other tests that may be needed to confirm that you are pregnant.
How Long Do You Have To Wait For The Results Of A Blood Test
So you’ve gone to the doctor’s office, waited to be seen, and had your blood drawn. Of course, it’s not over.
Your blood has to be sent to a lab to be analyzed. How long it takes for them to give you the results varies from lab to lab. It could take an hour or several days. A couple of days is a typical waiting period for lab results.
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Reasons For A Blood Pregnancy Test
Blood pregnancy tests are more sensitive than urine tests. They are typically reserved for those struggling with infertility or a suspected miscarriage.
A blood test can confirm pregnancy as early as nine days after conception. Urine pregnancy tests will take at least 10 days or longer.
Blood pregnancy tests have to be taken at the doctor’s office. Your doctor might advise you to wait until a missed period to do any type of pregnancy testing so you can get the most accurate result. Testing too early can produce a false negative. Unlike home pregnancy tests, you’ll have to wait for a blood pregnancy test result to come back from the lab.
Levels Are Gauged As Follows:
- hCG under 5 mIU/ml: Not pregnant
- hCG between 5-25 mIU/ml: Inconclusive. Repeat test in a couple of days
- hCG over 25 mIU/ml: pregnant
Because of the accuracy of this test, many physicians will use it to screen for pregnancy prior to performing any procedures that could negatively affect the health of the baby, including x-rays, MRIs, and more.
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Is There Anything Else I Need To Know About A Pregnancy Test
A urine pregnancy test shows whether HCG is present. HCG indicates pregnancy. A pregnancy blood test also shows the amount of HCG. If your blood tests show a very low amount of HCG, it could mean you have an ectopic pregnancy, a pregnancy that grows outside the uterus. A developing baby can’t survive an ectopic pregnancy. Without treatment, the condition can be life-threatening for a woman.
What Is Phantom Hcg
Phantom hCG is a false positive pregnancy blood test.
In these cases, the blood test for hCG cross-reacts with non-pregnancy related proteins in the blood called heterophile antibodies.
“When this occurs, it can actually have serious consequences unless your physician is aware of this false positive risk,” says Dr. Mark Trolice. “What are the risks? Ectopic pregnancy, where an embryo implants outside the uterus. This is a potentially life-threatening event but is often conservatively treated using an injection of the chemotherapy agent, methotrexate.”
But if the blood test for hCG is a false positive, and there is, in fact, no ectopic pregnancy, the woman may be needlessly exposed to repeated injections of methotrexate with risks of serious side effects from this medicine.
Another condition that can lead to a false positive, says Dr. Trolice, is gestation trophoblastic disease, or cancer of pregnancy tissue. In this scenario, persistent low levels of phantom hCG can be misinterpreted for this disease resulting in aggressive but unnecessary medical intervention. How to avoid over-treating a false positive hCG test? The urine pregnancy test, because heterophile antibodies are not present in urine.
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How Early Can A Blood Test Detect Pregnancy Hormones
“Pregnancy blood tests are reliably able to detect pregnancy at much lower ranges of circulating pregnancy hormone in the blood and thus can catch a pregnancy in its very early stages,” says Dr. Cindy M. Duke, a physician with the Nevada Fertility Institute in Las Vegas. “Circulating levels of pregnancy hormone would have to be much higher in order for it to be detected in the urine .”
Do you think you might be pregnant, but you are not sure about the reliability of the home test you’ve taken? Or perhaps you want to know now if you’re pregnant but it’s too early to take a urine test, so you are considering a blood test.
When can you trust the home test and when do you need to take a blood test instead?
There is much to consider when deciding whether or not to get the blood test. How accurate are they? How much trouble and cost are they? How soon can you take one and when will you get the results?
Let’s explore.
Elvis Huang , via Wikimedia Commons
Higher Hcg Than Expected
A higher than normal level of hCG may indicate:
- Infection or malignant tumors of the uterus
- More than one fetus
- Non-cancerous tumors of the uterus
- Ovarian cancer
- Sometimes, just an indication of a normal pregnancy, farther along in gestation
- Testicular cancer
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Tests Done Early In Pregnancyexpand All
- What tests are done early in pregnancy?
Several routine lab tests are done early in pregnancy, including
-
complete blood count
-
blood type and Rh factor
-
urinalysis
A CBC counts the number of different types of cells that make up your blood. The number of red blood cells can show whether you have a certain type of anemia. The number of white blood cells can show how many disease-fighting cells are in your blood. The number of platelets can reveal whether you have a problem with blood clotting.
Yes, during the first trimester of pregnancy you will have a blood test to find out your blood type, such as type A or type B. Also, your blood will be tested for the Rh factor.
The Rh factor is a protein that can be found on the surface of red blood cells. If your blood cells have this protein, you are Rh positive. If your blood cells do not have this protein, you are Rh negative.
If a woman is Rh negative and her fetus is Rh positive, the womans body can make antibodies against the Rh factor. These antibodies can damage the fetuss red blood cells. This usually does not cause problems in a first pregnancy, when the body makes only a small number of antibodies. But it can cause issues in a later pregnancy.
A urinalysis is a test of your urine for
red blood cells, to see if you have a urinary tract disease
Pregnancy Blood Test Results
Did your test come back positive for hCG in your blood? Then congratulations are in order youre definitely pregnant!
A test that comes back negative for hCG usually means a woman isnt pregnant. But rarely, its possible for an hCG blood test to deliver a false negative.
If your test doesnt detect any hCG but you and your provider still suspect youre pregnant, he or she may recommend re-doing the test in a week. At that point, if youre pregnant, your blood hCG levels should be higher and more easily detected.
If you were given a quantitative hCG test, the results will tell you exactly how much hCG is in your bloodstream. Try not to read into these numbers too closely or compare them with other moms-to-be. Theres a very wide range for what counts as normal and no two pregnant womens levels are exactly alike.
And if yours do look a little different? Take a deep breath: Everything is likely still A-okay. Most likely your due date is a little off, and in some cases, higher levels could mean youre having twins.
Ultimately, the most important thing is that your pregnancy is progressing normally and that your hCG levels continue going up until weeks 7 to 12 of pregnancy .
But if you have any questions or concerns, bring them up with your practitioner. Chances are he or she will be perfectly happy with your numbers and you should be too.
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What About False Positive And False Negative Tests
A false negative pregnancy test usually happens when testing is done too early, and you are pregnant but you test negative. hCG levels rise exponentially in the first two months of pregnancy so the earlier the test is performed, the higher the chance of a false negative result. Less sensitive urine tests and qualitative blood tests may not detect pregnancy until three or four days after implantation.
A false positive pregnancy test is a pregnancy test that is positive but you are not pregnant. Home pregnancy tests may show a positive or unclear result when reading well after the suggested 3-5 minute window, independent of an actual pregnancy. This type of false positive is also known as an evaporation line.
Also, anyone who has been given an hCG injection will also get a false positive. In addition, a false positive can also be seen in patients with a “phantom hCG”. These women have a low positive blood pregnancy test and a negative urine pregnancy test. Phantom hCGs are seen in some individuals who react to some substrate in the blood pregnancy test and display a consistently low positive blood pregnancy test even though they are not pregnant. This phantom hCG may lead to misdiagnosis but can be detected with serial dilutions and tests. Patients with phantom hCG have a positive blood hCG, but a negative urine hCG test.
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What Developments Have Been Made In Pregnancy Blood Tests
There are exciting new developments in prenatal blood tests, which expand the scope of their benefits. New research has shown that blood tests can predict premature birth and may identify the risk of gestational diabetes in the first trimester. In both cases, forewarned is forearmed: The sooner doctors can begin preparing for a potentially risky pregnancy, the better the overall outcomes. By addressing risks earlier in the pregnancy, you may be able to deal with concerns and make lifestyle changes before reaching a health-related crisis.
Recent research out of Australia also indicates that blood tests may be used to determine a mothers risk of preeclampsia, a severe and possibly life-threatening pregnancy complication related to high blood pressure that effects 3 8% of pregnant women. Although the test for preeclampsia is not currently available in the United States, its use in Australiawhere it accurately predicted preeclampsia in 95% of casesindicates that positive steps are being taken. Be sure to ask your doctor about the latest available tests.
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