Getting pregnant can be one of the greatest moments a family can have. The journey to have children and the miracle of childbirth is something that brings joy to millions of people around the world. However, knowing for sure that you are pregnant requires more than guesswork, it requires proper testing.
When a woman feels the symptoms of pregnancy or a couple is trying for pregnancy, they may find themselves taking pregnancy tests. Pregnancy is a fairly easy to look for condition as it secretes a specific hormone. Tests can be done at home or through a doctor or medical testing service. The results are very accurate.
Pregnancy Symptoms
Many women will start to feel symptoms of pregnancy early. They are far from definitive symptoms, but they allow these women to choose to get a test done. Here are some of the symptoms to look out for:
- Missed Period - This is a pretty big one. Women who miss the start of a menstrual cycle are given a big hint about potential pregnancy. This shouldn’t be the only thing considered. There are a lot of things like stress and environmental factors that can influence a change or delay in a woman’s menstrual cycle.
- Nausea - Typically this nausea is referred to as morning sickness and is very often accompanied by vomiting as well.
- Tender Breasts - Typically as a woman becomes pregnant she may find her breasts to become swollen and very tender to the touch.
- Fatigue - Ask any woman and she will tell you that pregnancy is incredibly tiring. While this is most true during the late stages, there can be some general fatigue in the early stages of pregnancy as well.
How Soon Can You Test for Pregnancy?
Many people feel like they need to test for pregnancy immediately. However, the truth is that’s not possible. It takes some time for hormones to grow within the body. The amount of time that you need to wait depends on what type of test you are going to take.
For most people, the first test they are going to take is a home pregnancy test. Home pregnancy tests are easily acquired and very accurate so long as they are taken at the right time. Typically it takes approximately 2 weeks after ovulation for there to be enough hormone to get an accurate positive test. There are some tests that will advertise as being able to detect the hormone earlier. These are more likely to give false positives as they have been tuned to detect unrealistic levels of the hormone.
Home Pregnancy Tests
For most women, the first test they are going to take when they believe they may be pregnant is a home pregnancy test. There are a lot of different home pregnancy tests and there are a lot of different qualities to them.
Home pregnancy tests work on the same principle that doctor’s tests do. They both are looking for the hormone that the body exudes when it is pregnant. The difference between the home test and the doctor’s test is the source. Home pregnancy tests rely on urine whereas a doctor can test through blood. The hormone that indicates pregnancy shows up in blood first, which is why a doctor’s test is more reliable.
Home pregnancy tests are actually very accurate. While an incorrect pregnancy test may be a trope in TV sitcoms, it’s not the case in reality. Home pregnancy tests are actually incredibly accurate. They are known to have a success rate of over 99%. Generally, the reason that home pregnancy tests are incorrect is that they are taken too early before an identifiable amount of hormone has been released.