What Can You Do Before That First Prenatal Appointment
Once you find out you’re pregnant and are waiting for your first prenatal appointment, there are many steps you can take to prioritize both your health and the health of your pregnancy:
- Take a daily prenatal vitamin if you arent already with at least 400 micrograms of folate .
- If youre taking any other medications, call the provider who prescribed them to discuss pregnancy safety and whether or not you should discontinue use.
- Avoid undercooked or unheated fish and meat, unpasteurized dairy, and anything linked to listeria.
- If youre experiencing any nausea, try bland foods, smaller portion sizes, and ginger to settle your stomach.
- Pay attention to exercise, which is actually recommended during pregnancy. You can find exercise guidelines for pregnancy here, but everyone’s bodies are different. Talk to your healthcare provider for personalized recs.
- Drink lots of water.
Are There Any Medications That Can Change The Result Of My Pregnancy Test
For the most part, medications do not change your pregnancy test results. Antibiotics, birth control, alcohol and many other drugs do not impact your test results. The main reason for a false-negative is testing too early. You might also get a false-negative if you use a home test incorrectly. Its important to follow the directions on your test kit to make sure you get an accurate result.
However, fertility drugs are one exception. These medications can sometimes cause a false-positive on your pregnancy test. If youre taking fertility medications, reach out to your healthcare provider about your results to make sure they are accurate.
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With most current pregnancy test kits, hCG can be detected in the urine as early as 3-4 days after implantation, though it often takes longer. If you are pregnant, on the day you miss your period about 74% of HPTs will be positive. So a negative pregnancy test is normal in about 26% of all pregnancies, and you may have to retest until you know the most accurate results. At 10+ days after the missed period, a negative HPT result makes pregnancy unlikely. Positive pregnancy test results can show up any time before or after a missed period.
Go to the Pregnancy Test Calculator and find out more
The graph below shows the % of positive urine tests by day if you are pregnant:
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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.
Youre Not Pregnant: Evaporation Line
Taking a home pregnancy test and getting a faint positive line doesnt always mean youre pregnant. Sometimes, what appears to be a positive line is actually an evaporation line. These misleading lines can appear in the results window as urine evaporates from the stick. If a faint evaporation line develops on your home pregnancy test, you may mistakenly think that youre pregnant.
It can be hard to determine whether a faint line is a positive result or an evaporation line. The primary difference is that evaporation lines appear in the test window several minutes after the recommended time for checking the test results.
If you take a home pregnancy test, its important to read and carefully follow the instructions. The package will let you know when to check your test results, which can be within three to five minutes, depending on the manufacturer.
If you check your results within the recommended time frame and see a faint positive line, youre most likely pregnant. On the other hand, if you miss the window for checking the results and you dont check the test until 10 minutes later, a faint line may be an evaporation line, which means youre not pregnant.
It also helps to take the home pregnancy test first thing in the morning. The less diluted your urine, the better. Make sure you check the results within the appropriate time frame to avoid confusing an evaporation line with a positive line.
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My Pregnancy Test Says I Am Pregnant What Should I Do Next
If a home pregnancy test shows that you are pregnant, you should call your doctor to schedule an appointment.
Your doctor can use a blood test to tell for sure whether you are pregnant. Seeing your doctor early in your pregnancy also means you can begin prenatal care to help you and your baby stay healthy.
What Are The Chances Of A False Positive Pregnancy Test
Truly false positive pregnancy tests are rare. The risk of a false negative pregnancy test is much higher than the risk of a false positive. Below are some possible explanations for false positive pregnancy tests :
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When Will Positive Pregnancy Test Show
A positive pregnancy test will show after your body has enough hCG.
The sensitivity of different pregnancy tests is different. Some may be able to detect lower levels of hCG. Others need a higher concentration of hCG for detecting pregnancy.
Once the hCG level in your body reaches 25 mIU/ml, a positive pregnancy test will show up.
Beyond this level of hCG mostly every pregnancy test will give a positive.
You can get a big fat positive pregnancy test after three weeks.
To get the highest accuracy, you must wait for three weeks from ovulation date.
The reason why all references are from ovulation date is that it is something you can identify. Other events cannot be pinpointed by a person who is not from the medical profession.
Is 11 Dpo Too Early To Test
Some at-home pregnancy tests can be taken as early as four days before you expect your period, which for most people means you could take a pregnancy test 11 DPO. If you want to try a pregnancy test at home, youll get the most accurate results if you do it immediately after waking up in the morning.
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What Is An Hcg Urine Test
A human chorionic gonadotropin urine test is a pregnancy test. A pregnant womans placenta produces hCG, also called the pregnancy hormone.
If youre pregnant, the test can usually detect this hormone in your urine about a day after your first missed period.
During the first 8 to 10 weeks of pregnancy, hCG levels normally increase very rapidly. These levels reach their peak at about the 10th week of pregnancy, and then they gradually decline until delivery.
This type of urine test is commonly sold in kits that you can use at home. Its often referred to as a home pregnancy test.
The hCG urine test is a qualitative test, which means that it will tell you whether or not it detects the hCG hormone in your urine. Its not intended to reveal specific levels of the hormone.
The presence of hCG in your urine is considered a positive sign of pregnancy.
When Should You Schedule An Appointment With Your Healthcare Provider After Finding Out You Might Be Pregnant
Call your healthcare provider as soon as you get a positive pregnancy test result so you can schedule your first prenatal appointment about eight weeks after your last menstrual period . This initial visit is a good time to review with your provider any questions you may have about your pregnancy.
Since COVID-19 has expanded telehealth prenatal care, some providers may review medical history and provide initial counseling before eight weeks through telehealth visits though the appointments after eight weeks will need to be in person.
Like we mentioned earlier, that first 8-week appointment is when your pregnancy and its location will be confirmed via ultrasound though sometimes confirmation of pregnancy may happen through a blood test. Why is the location of the pregnancy important? In the rare event of an ectopic pregnancy , when the egg is fertilized outside of the uterus, this can lead to complications.
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During And After Implantation
Implantation is a process in which the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall. It then travels down towards the uterus, where it burrows into the uterine wall and that is when implantation occurs. The implantation process takes around 8 to 10 days after ovulation to complete.
After successful implantation, the embryo released the pregnancy hormone or hCG that helps the body to prepare for the pregnancy. This is the hormone that gets detected in the pregnancy test. One may have to avoid or limit strenuous activities to prevent implantation failure during this time. At this point, some may feel certain signs of pregnancy as well.
Pregnancy Tests That Your Doctor May Do
Your GP will probably do a urine pregnancy test to detect whether you are pregnant.
It is always a good idea to bring a sample of urine to the GP surgery with you if you think you may be pregnant. This will mean your appointment is not delayed.
It will also avoid the ‘stage fright’ that can occur when you are trying to pee and you know someone is waiting on you.
The pregnancy testing kit that your GP will use is like the kits that you can buy over the counter.
Your doctor may perform a blood test to check the level of hCG in your blood. This test is done if you have had some bleeding from your vagina or if you have severe pains in your tummy. Your GP may also carry out a blood test if you have severe morning sickness.
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/5when Is The Right Time To Take The Test
The best time to take the pregnancy test is after your period is late. You can take the test from the first day of your missed period. Some test kits show positive as early as 4 or 5 days before your period is due. Taking the test after a missed period can help you avoid false negatives and the false positives of very early miscarriages. If your menstrual cycle is irregular then wait for 35 to 40 days before taking the test for an accurate result.
Can The Home Pregnancy Test Give False Positive
A home pregnancy test can undoubtedly give a false positive pregnancy test.
Getting a false pregnancy test is uncommon if it is positive. A positive pregnancy test at 3 weeks is most likely to be true.
If you are taking fertility drugs, then you can get a false positive pregnancy test.
Home pregnancy tests accuracy also depends on how you perform the test.
If you dont follow the specific instructions of the pregnancy test, then a home pregnancy test can give a false positive.
But the pregnancy test is not fake! It is very genuine and can detect pregnancy mostly.
Pregnancy test after implantation needs you to wait for the hCG from ovulation drugs to get out of your body. Only after that, you can get accurate pregnancy test results.
Doctors advise you to not a take any home pregnancy test after IVF. The reason being that it is not accurate.
You can also get a false negative pregnancy test. It is because you took the test too early that you got a false negative pregnancy test.
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How Early Can You Test Positive For Pregnancy
You can carry out most pregnancy tests from the first day of a missed period. If you dont 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.
When Is A Blood Pregnancy Test Positive
The blood pregnancy test generally provides greater accuracy earlier. If you are pregnant, your blood test will usually be positive within 3-4 days after implantation or about 9-10 days after fertilization and ovulation, which is roughly 5-6 days before a missed period.
The earliest you can get a positive result on the most sensitive pregnancy tests is 3-4 days after implantation, 11-12 days after ovulation/fertilization or about 2 days prior to your next period. But the majority of home pregnancy tests will not be positive until you miss a period.
LEARN more about your pregnancy test knowledge by taking the Pregnancy Test Quiz
Implantation needs to occur before hCG is produced, and implantation generally happens between 6-12 days post ovulation/fertilization, so the HPT would be positive as early as 11-12 days after ovulation/fertilization.
For this reason, it makes sense to wait until 10-12 days after ovulation. However, even 10-12 days after ovulation, over one-half of pregnant women will still show a negative result.If you did not have an hCG injection , you can believe the positive results, but a negative result does not necessarily exclude a pregnancy. If your period is late, test again.
LEARN more about your pregnancy test knowledge by taking the Pregnancy Test Quiz
Your hCG levels should rise at least 60% every 2 days and many people won’t have a positive HPT until the first day of a missed period or even a few days later.
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All You Need To Know About Testing Early For Pregnancy
After the egg is fertilised, it travels to the uterus and implants itself in the uterine wall. At this stage tiny amounts of the pregnancy hormone, hCG, start to appear in your urine. 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 .
So, for example, if you expect your period on 15th of the month, you can test as early as the 10th. Use our helpful when to test calculator to find out when you can test with Clearblue Digital Ultra Early Pregnancy Test – no test can tell you sooner.
No matter when you test, you can be confident in the accuracy of a ‘Pregnant’ result with any Clearblue Pregnancy Test.
But if you are testing early, you should be aware that even if your result is not pregnant, you may still be pregnant. This is because levels of hCG vary from woman to woman and there may not yet be enough hormone for the test to give a positive result. HCG levels rise rapidly in early pregnancy, as shown in the graph below, meaning that if you test again on the day of your expected period, your result will be over 99% accurate.
The day of your expected period is the day your period is due to start. If you still havent got your period the next day, this is the day of your missed period. So if you see instructions telling you to take the test four days before your expected period, this is the same as five days before your missed period.
