Disposable pregnancy kits has been in the medical industry for decades, yet many people, particularly women, still wonder how this little helpful kit works and ask how accurate are home pregnancy tests are.
Here’s how this thing works to give you the idea how accurate are home pregnancy tests; pregnancy kits measures the telltale hormone present in woman’s urine called the hCG or chorionic ganodotropin.
This hCG hormone produced by the cells in the woman’s placenta, first goes inside the bloodstream after the fertilized egg cell get into the uterus. That’s about after six days of fertilization. The quantity of the hCG hormone present in the body will drastically increase in weeks, even doubles every two days or so.
Now, you may start to ask; how accurate are home pregnancy test when you miss your period? Most kits available in the market today are really reliable. Some even claim to be 99% accurate, which would mean that you can actually still use it even if you miss your period. But way back in 2004, a study from American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows that, this claim by most disposable pregnancy test brands is misleading. Some kits may be really able to recognize the hormone from the urine and reflect it in the results, but there are some kits that are not sensitive enough to show accurate results, which can be really troubling.
A dedicated researched from the University of New Mexico conducted a study and evaluated 18 tests. Results shows that only one from his samples show consistently sensitive to detect the hCG hormone that pregnant women have in their first day of their of missing their menstrual cycle. The amount of hCG hormone in urine this early can differ from one woman to another. Some woman may have really high hCG level, while some may show almost nothing in the early days of their first miss of period. Many tests show sensitivity from the hormones and pick up just about 16% of pregnancy that early stage.
The bottom line of this discussion is that, if you want to get the most accurate results from disposable pregnancy kits, you can at least wait a week and pass your expected menstrual period before conducting any tests.
Now, you may ask how accurate are home pregnancy test this early? According to FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulations, pregnancy kits can actually be more than 99% accurate if its manufacturer simply tests their products in their lab. Today, most pregnancy test kits are more sensitive to those hormones than ever before.
How to use these pregnancy test kits? The best way to check if you’re having a child is to first, check the expiration date of the package, and make sure you’re using the right one, especially if you just have found that kit in your drawer for a while. Storing test kits for pregnancy may not be a very good idea, as some places inside your house, especially your bathroom, can cause moist or warm in the kit, which may result to deterioration. It’s always better to use new ones freshly brought from the drugstore.
For best results, test the kit first thing in the morning. That’s the time where your urine is mostly concentrated.
