Written By: Bhavyajyoti Chilukoti | Updated : October 9, 2014 5:09 PM IST
Hi, I am a 28-year-old married female. I have read about home pregnancy test kits which are widely used to confirm pregnancy, but don't know how to go about it. How am I supposed to do the test? Does the test produce accurate results? Please help me.
A home pregnancy test is the most common test that is done to confirm whether you are pregnant or not. It detects the levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in your urine. This hormone is produced when the fertilized egg gets attached to the wall of the uterus, which usually takes a week's time to appear in the blood and urine. Hence, this test is recommended to be taken around a week after you miss your regular period.
These test kits are easy-to-use but you need to carefully follow the instructions. The test requires a urine sample which can be taken by any of the three ways
The home-pregnancy test shows more accurate results when done in the morning (when the urine is more concentrated). After you are done with loading urine sample, wait for around 1 3 minutes for the results to appear.
Interpretation of the results:
A commonly used home pregnancy kit is the one that shows a coloured line. A coloured line in both the test as well as control indicates that you are pregnant; while, a coloured line in the control indicates that you are not pregnant. It is highly possible to get a false-negative test, if you took the test too soon. In such cases, wait for a week and perform the test once again. If still the results are negative, visit a doctor to know the cause of your condition.
Note: The home-pregnancy kits may vary from company to company and hence, the symbols used to indicate result may differ. The results may show - a line, a colour, a plus or minus sign or words like 'pregnant' and 'not pregnant' on digital display.
Image Source: Getty Images
You may also like to read:
For more articles on pregnancy, visit our pregnancysection. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.
