How To Take A Pregnancy Test
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1. When to take a pregnancy test: To understand when to take a pregnancy test, you have to know how it works. After fertilisation of the egg by the spermatozoon, the egg takes about eight days to move into the uterus.
Once the egg is fixed, your body secretes a hormone, the hormone chorionic gonadotropin or "HCG / Beta HCG". It is this hormone that will be detected by the pregnancy test. When it comes to knowing the right time to do a pregnancy test, two scenarios are presented to you.
First case: you have a regular menstrual cycle. In this situation, it is estimated that the urine pregnancy test is reliable five days after your period was due. It can be assumed that the blood test is more sensitive and can be performed earlier but the risk of a false negative still exists. There are also "early" urinary tests that can be done six days before the presumed menstrual period, but beware of distorted results too. Be patient!
Second case: your menstrual cycle is irregular. Try to remember how long your last cycle lasted and take the test five days after the end of the estimated cycle. If you cannot calculate it, you can have a blood test fourteen days after unprotected sex or a urine test twenty-one days later.
2. How to do a pregnancy test: The urine test is very easy to get and do at home. You can buy it in pharmacies or supermarkets. Just hold the tab of the stick underneath you as you pee according to the time indicated in the instructions for use. About three minutes later, the result is visible.
Urine tests are quite reliable provided you follow the instructions for use. The best time to do a urine test is first thing in the morning, because the urine is very concentrated at that time and the hormone will be less diluted.
You can also take a blood test that will be prescribed by your doctor. You can go to a laboratory for sampling and you will have the result the same day.
3. Final tips: Any urinary pregnancy test must be confirmed by a blood test and an ultrasound. When in doubt, do not hesitate to ask your doctor or gynecologist for advice.
