Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Pregnancy Tests

Question:
I see on a lot of different pregnancy tests that say they can detect a pregnancy very close to the woman missing her period.( withing a day or two) I am wondering if you can take it before you have missed your period. Also, if you are not missing your periods, can a home pregnancy test detect pregnancy? Or would I have to see a Dr. for a blood test?

Answer:
If you are not missing your period, you are not pregnant. Now, some women may experience implantation bleeding or other bleeding which they *mistake* for a period, but it ain't! :-) Some HPTs are better than others. The good ones are just as good as a blood test at the doctor's office. Hard to say. You can google and find which pregnancy tests are more sensitive. Those that detect lower levels of hcg are more sensitive and will detect pregnancy earlier, some typically as early as a couple of days before a missed period. However, any test can have a false negative, so a negative pregnancy test is not a guarantee you're not pregnant (true of blood tests, too). False positives are very rare, though, so if you test positive then you are almost certainly pregnant. But, since it's so early, it's not uncommon for a very early positive to turn into a negative due to an early miscarriage. There is also a lot of variation among women. There are women who are pregnant and don't get positive pregnancy tests until they are *weeks* beyond their missed period. That's not common, but it is possible. So, there really isn't any guarantee. If you're within a couple days of your expected period, you might have some luck if you test with one of the more sensitive tests. But his point is correct -- it's a mistaken identification of your period, but not your actual period. The only way that a person could really have a period AND be pregnant is in rare cases where they have two uterus. Other than that, you may bleed around the time of your period, but it's not your period. It's pregnancy spotting or implantation bleeding, but not menstruation. It would depend on when your period was due. If your period was due tomorrow, yes, it *could* be accurate. But, if it isn't due for a few more days/week, then it's not likely to be accurate.