Early Pregnancy Tests Effectiveness

Women often ask us, "Do early pregnancy tests work?" They are anxious to find out the results and waiting for a few more days is so difficult! Some pregnancy tests claim to provide accurate results as early as four days before a missed period, while others are more accurate when taken after your missed period.

Most pregnancy tests work by indicating whether your urine contains hCG, a hormone that a woman's body produces after a fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus. If this hormone is elevated, the pregnancy test will show that you are pregnant. Other tests detect H-hCG and these tests detect pregnancy quicker.

If you test too early, the hCG or H-hCG in your urine may not be high enough for the test to detect. So, if you test negative on the test and still don't start your period, wait a few days and retest.

Please understand that early pregnancy tests assume you have a 14-day luteal phase. Your luteal phase is the time between ovulation and your period. If your luteal phase is longer or shorter than 14 days, you need to test on a different day.

How accurate are early pregnancy tests? Recent studies indicate that early tests are between 46% to 89% accurate.

Blood tests can also detect levels of hCG and blood tests are more sensitive to lower levels of the hormone. Blood tests can detect pregnancy 6-8 days after ovulation. Most doctors will not offer you a blood test until after you have missed your period.

If you need an accurate pregnancy test, we offer them free of charge at all of our Colorado Springs locations.