Possible Symptoms Of Pregnancy
Some women suspect they might be pregnant even before a missed period. However, a lot of the symptoms you may feel before a missed period can be the same as a premenstrual cycle, so sometimes it can be difficult to tell.
If youre on the fence about whether or not you could be pregnant, here are a few things to look out for:
- Headaches
- Queasiness
- Fluctuating emotions
There are over-the-counter tests that claim to detect pregnancy before a missed period. These can be a good option before a missed period if you think you might be pregnant .
Do Homemade Pregnancy Tests Work
Healthcare professionals and researchers have not explored the effectiveness of most homemade pregnancy tests.
While some people on message boards and blogs say that these tests work, there is no scientific support for their claims.
A homemade pregnancy test may give the same result as a reliable test by coincidence. Getting the same result from both methods does not show that the DIY test was accurate.
The only reliable home pregnancy test is a commercial test that detects hCG.
However, fertility monitoring and awareness methods may help a woman identify pregnancy early on.
These methods are more reliable than most homemade pregnancy tests but cannot conclusively confirm pregnancy. They also usually require several weeks or even months of monitoring.
When The Doctor Has Confirmed Your Pregnancy
In some cases your doctor already confirmed your pregnancy but you dont have symptoms. This might just mean that you are a lucky one that wont get any unpleasant pregnancy symptoms such as bloating or cravings. Some women will also have symptoms of pregnancy that they mistake for normal everyday feelings. Examples would be having a huge appetite, a larger appetite, or more energy.
Whether or not you feel symptoms of pregnancy, always keep your appointments with your doctor for the prenatal checkups. This will ensure your baby is developing correctly. Anytime you have unusual symptoms like bleeding or sharp pains, see your doctor. Most of the time, your pregnancy will be fine and soon you will start to grow a baby bump and feel your baby kicking.
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/13are These Tests Scientifically Reliable
Even though homemade tests have been used by generations and there’s a lot of history behind their usage, there is no conclusive proof or scientific evidence that any of these tests work to deliver a 100% positive result. A good result can be resultant of coincidence as well.
Apart from homemade tests, certain fertility monitoring tools and awareness methods can make a woman aware of her pregnancy. While they are reliable, they take a longer time to process and need prior knowledge.For proper detection, using a store-bought kit, or getting a test done from the doctor’s clinic is the safest.
Can You Be Pregnant And Not Know It
Youve probably heard a story about it at least once: a woman who didnt know they were pregnant until they went into labor. Your first thought? How is it possible to not know youre carrying a baby?Its not out of the question, says Michael Cackovic, MD, an OB/GYN at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. There are women who dont have routine sex, dont have routine periods, and dont regularly see a doctor, he says. Under those circumstances, its possible you could not realize youre pregnant.
Other women have mental health problems that keep them from recognizing or accepting that theyre going to have a baby.
That condition, called denied pregnancy, happens often. A few studies have estimated that one in 400 or 500 women are 20 weeks, or about 5 months, into their pregnancy before they realize they are with child. Thats about the same as one woman on a commercial jet full of moms-to-be.
One in 2,500 women make it all the way to labor before they understand theyre going to have a baby. Thats about three times more common than a womans chance of having triplets.
Continued
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Benefits Of Homemade Pregnancy Tests
It is important to keep in mind that all these home pregnancy tests were popular and commonly used during the times of our grandmothers and earlier when scientific pregnancy kits were not available and it often took pregnant women not only weeks but months to know their pregnancy status. However, even now, these tests have certain benefits.
These are performed with ingredients that are easily available in the house or around. So, you need not buy anything to take the test. The easy availability of the ingredients also ensures that you can take the test whenever you want and repeat, if you need.
In case of unplanned pregnancy or if you just want to confirm that you are not pregnant after a missed period, the homemade tests ensure complete secrecy. As you are not required to buy and dispose of anything specifically related to pregnancy, the chances of anyone getting to know about it are minimal.
When To Use The Home Pregnancy Test
As we stated earlier, HCG increases the further along you are in your pregnancy. So if you take a home pregnancy test before a missed period, its not likely going to be as accurate as if you take it after a missed period.
Recent studies show that home pregnancy tests are most accurate one week or more after a missed period. You can take the test sooner than one week after your missed period, but there is a higher likelihood that you will see a false negative. If you continue to see negative results week after week, but you still think youre pregnant, schedule an appointment with your doctor.
Also, keep in mind that a positive result on a home pregnancy test is more likely to be true than a negative result.
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How Soon Can I Take A Pregnancy Test
You can take a pregnancy test anytime after your period is late thats when they work the best. Its a good idea to take a pregnancy test as soon as possible if you miss your period or think you might be pregnant.
The earlier you know youre pregnant, the sooner you can start thinking about your options and get whatever care you need to stay healthy.
Many pregnancy tests say they work a few days before a missed period, but the results are usually less accurate then. Read the label on your pregnancy test to find out when to take a pregnancy test and how accurate itll be.
Sometimes a pregnancy test is able to find pregnancy hormones in your urine as early as 10 days after unprotected sex. But these results arent super reliable, and you may get a false positive or false negative test result.
If your periods are very irregular, or you dont get periods at all for one reason or another, your best bet for accurate results is to take a pregnancy test 3 weeks after sex.
Benefits Of Natural Pregnancy Test
There are only a few of us who would turn to home-made tests, but those who hesitate to take up the natural route may miss out on some of the benefits like:
- This method can come in handy when you suspect an unplanned pregnancy and wouldnt want others to know about it.
- Disposing of a pregnancy test can be difficult to hide but not when you use natural ingredients.
- All the ingredients required are on your kitchen shelves.
- You can take the test in the comfort of your home instead of the pharmacy.
- Natural pregnancy tests are cost-effective.
- You dont have to worry about the expiry date as the natural ingredients used do not have a shelf life.
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Pregnancy Symptoms Vs Pms Symptoms
Pregnancy symptoms often mimic PMS symptoms. For example, fatigue, nausea, and breast tenderness can be symptoms of both pregnancy and PMS.
But if youre pregnant, there may be some telltale signs that its not PMS. For example, you may experience implantation bleeding.
This is light spotting or bleeding that occurs about 10 to 14 days after conception, usually about a week before your period would usually start. This bleeding will be lighter and stop after one to three days.
Other symptoms like breast tenderness, bloating, and cramps could be symptoms of either PMS or pregnancy. Until you can take a home pregnancy test, it will be difficult to tell what is causing these symptoms.
My Pregnancy Test Says I Am Not Pregnant Could I Still Be Pregnant
Yes, it is possible you could still be pregnant. It’s possible to be pregnant and to have a pregnancy test show that you are not pregnant.
The accuracy of home pregnancy test results varies from woman to woman because:
- Each woman ovulates at a different time in her menstrual cycle.
- The fertilized egg can implant in a woman’s uterus at different times.
- Sometimes women get false-negative results when they test too early in the pregnancy. False negative means the test says you are not pregnant when you are.
- Problems with the pregnancy can affect the amount of hCG in the urine.
If a test says you are not pregnant, take another pregnancy test in a few days. If you are pregnant, your hCG levels should double every 48 hours.1 If you think you are pregnant but more tests say you are not, call your doctor.
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Could I Be Pregnant
If you have sex theres always a chance you could get pregnant, especially on very specific days during your cycle.
Many women assume that because they use contraception they are fully protected, but no form of hormonal birth control is 100% effective.
If youve had unprotected sex and are feeling off, you may start to wonder if youre pregnant. There are some common pregnancy symptoms you can be on the lookout for, but ultimately only a pregnancy test can tell you with certainty whether or not youre pregnant. We offer pregnancy testing for free, so contact us to schedule your appointment today!
How To Make Sure That The Pregnancy Test Results Are Accurate
- Use a clean container when you collect the urine sample.
- Test the first urine of the day as it will have high levels of hCG.
- Make sure to collect a substantial amount of urine. If it is too low, you may end up with incorrect test results.
- Once you have taken the test, wait for the reaction to happen. It may take up to 10 minutes.
- If you did not get accurate results, dont hesitate to take it once again.
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How To Read The Results
Check out any TTC online discussion on the salt pregnancy test, and youll likely see many posted pictures of salty pee in clear cups with questions like, Is this positive? Thats because no one seems exactly sure what theyre looking for and how to distinguish a positive from a negative.
But heres what folklore says:
Youre Not Pregnant Youre Ovulating
Ovulation which happens about midway through a typical cycle doesnt have as many symptoms in common with pregnancy as menstruation does, but you could still experience breast tenderness, mild cramping, and occasionally nausea during the time when your uterus releases its monthly egg.
If youre not tracking your periods and dont know exactly where you are in your cycle, you could be forgiven for mistaking ovulation for early signs of pregnancy but you may have to wait around
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How To Check Pregnancy At Home Naturally
You can check pregnancy at home by adding a urine sample with common household ingredients like salt, sugar, baking powder, wine, etc., and observing how the urine reacts. After the embryo attaches itself to the uterine lining the body starts producing a specific hormone, the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin also known as the pregnancy hormone.
If you are pregnant, there will be certain levels of HCG in your urine which is otherwise not present. Most home pregnancy tests without a kit work on the principle that urine with HCG reacts differently with household ingredients than normal urine. However, there is no scientific proof or study to back this claim.
Recent Miscarriage Or Abortion
You may continue to test positive for pregnancy following the loss of a pregnancy, either through miscarriage or abortion.
During pregnancy, hCG levels continue to rise as the placenta grows, doubling every few days and peaking at around 10 weeks. When a pregnancy ends, hCG levels begin to recede, but its a slow process.
The hormone can remain in your blood and urine for up to six weeks following the end of the pregnancy. Its possible to have a false-positive test until your hCG levels return to their prepregnancy state.
If the miscarriage was spontaneous, its also possible that not all of the pregnancy-related tissue was eliminated. This will cause hCG levels to remain elevated.
When this occurs, a minor surgical procedure called a dilation and curettage is often required to remove the tissue.
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Blood And Test Tubes: The Pee
This all changed in the 1960s when scientists began to develop pregnancy tests that didnt require the use of live animals and could therefore be done in doctors offices. At first, these tests had similar sensitivity for hCG, but by the early 1970s, Drs. Vaitukaitis, Braunstein, and Ross had developed a test that could detect pregnancy just 2-3 weeks after conceptionon the first day of a missed period. These new tests used antibodies.
Antibodies are molecules that recognize and stick to other molecules. In their usual job, theyre sticking to the molecules of bacteria or viruses to alert the immune system to these invaders. In pregnancy tests, however, scientists engineered antibodies that recognized and stuck to hCG. Armed with these hCG antibodies, the urine of pregnant women, and, strangely enough, sheeps blood, we had a new pregnancytest.
To perform the test, scientists attached hCG to the outside of the sheeps blood cells, decorating the blood cells with hCG. They then mixed these blood cells with the other test components: hCG antibodies and urine.
Based on the way that antibodies stick to hCG and to each other, the hCG-decorated blood cells would clump if they were mixed with the urine of a woman who was not pregnant. On the other hand, if the blood cells and hCG antibody were mixed with the urine of a woman who was pregnant, the blood cells would not clump. So by looking at the clumpiness of the blood cells, doctors could tell if a woman was pregnant .
When Should I Test
Home pregnancy tests can be very accurate , especially if you wait to test until after your period is officially late. Some tests claim to accurately detect pregnancy up to a week before your missed period, so if you’re experiencing some pregnancy symptoms and are champing at the bit, go for it.
You’re more likely to get an accurate test result if you wait until your period is late, according to the Mayo Clinic, because the hormone that’s detected in home pregnancy tests, hCG, doubles every two to three days after an embryo attaches to your uterus, meaning there’s more to detect in your urine if you wait a few days.
Because this hormone can sometimes take a while to build up, false negative results aren’t uncommon in early pregnancy. It’s much more rare to get a false positive. If you get a positive test result, you are very likely pregnant, or experienced a recent pregnancy loss, and can confirm the pregnancy through a blood test or ultrasound.
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The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
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The Wheat And Barley Test
One of the earliest, if not the earliest, home pregnancy tests came from Ancient Egypt. In 1350 BCE, women were advised to urinate on wheat and barley seeds over the course of several days if the wheat sprouted, she was having a girl, and if the barley sprouted, a boy. If neither sprouted, she wasnât pregnant. The most interesting thing about this test was that it actually worked: In 1963, a laboratory experimented with the wheat and barley test and found that 70 percent of the time, the urine of pregnant people would cause the seeds to sprout, while the urine of non-pregnant people.
How Accurate Are At
Every woman is different when it comes to HCG levels in their urine. Some women may have high levels of HCG the day after a missed period, while other women need to wait much longer. Some women may never get a positive result from a home pregnancy test even though they are pregnant. This is why, if you think you might be pregnant, you should go see your doctor.
With all pregnancy tests, no matter the type or brand, make sure to read the instructions thoroughly and follow them to get the most accurate result.
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Take Care Of Your Body
Its also important so you can make good choices for your body to support your pregnancy and give your baby a healthy start in life. If you discover you are pregnant, you should follow the guidelines below.
Start prenatal vitamins
Prenatal vitamins include an extra amount of folic acid, which is important for the development of your babys brain and nervous system. Ask your doctor what type of prenatal vitamins they recommend.
Avoid alcohol and certain medications
Avoid alcohol and certain medications if you are pregnant. Alcohol significantly affects fetal brain development. Some medications can also cause birth defects. Read more about medications in pregnancy.
Avoid smoking and drugs
Avoid recreational drugs, smoking, vaping, and marijuana when pregnant. These can also cause developmental issues and birth defects in babies. Smoking harms lung development and restricts blood flow to the placenta.
Eat right and exercise
When you let your provider know youre pregnant, you will get helpful information about a healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy. Youll receive a list of foods, activities, and environmental exposures to avoid. Youll receive information about avoiding work-related exposures, too . Your provider will see if you are up-to-date on vaccinations or if there are any other recommended vaccinations you should receive.
