Pregnancy Test - Home Pregnancy Test

When actively trying to conceive , the time comes to think about taking a home Pregnancy test (hpt).

When to pregnancy test is often the most asked question. And that answer depends on what brand of test you choose. I have done some lengthy study on these and feel that many can be used before the first day of the missed period. So what pregnancy test to select?

Implantation of the fertilized egg usually takes place at around 7-10 days post ovulation. Though it can occur as early as 4 days and as late as 12 days. When you chart your cycle you will find out how long your luteal phase is - this will determine when menstruation should begin and thus should tell you when to take a test. However, if you are real attuned to your body, and can identify possible Pregnancy symptoms before the menstruation is missed, you could see a positive Pregnancy test sooner.

This is true of myself. I just recently found out that I am pregnant with my third child. My menstrual cycle wasn’t due until Sunday, March 5. However, I had some classic Pregnancy symptoms on February 28 at 10 days post ovulation, so I used an hpt on February 29 at 11 days post ovulation and it was positive. It was positive again the next day, when I confirmed it with another hpt. The first day of my missed period would be on Sunday March 5, but I found out much earlier!

There are many different brands of hpt’s that detect as little as 25 mIU/hCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin, the hormone produced when implantation occurs.) Below is a chart that shows averages of hCG starting with week 3 to week 40.

Week from the Last Menstrual Period (LMP) Amount of HCG in mIU/ml

3 5 - 50

4 3 - 426

5 19 - 7,340

6 1,080 - 56,500

7 - 8 7,650 - 229,000

9 - 12 25,700 - 288,000

13 - 16 13,300 - 254,000

17 - 24 4,060 - 165,400

25 - 40 3,640 - 117,000

For a more detailed look at this chart go t http://www.inciid.org/betas.html A woman can test as early as 8 days post ovulation and receive a positive hpt. On the other hand, it can take up to 17 days to see a positive hpt. And some women, though few, will never see a positive hpt - even though they are indeed pregnant. I have a good friend who never had a positive hpt with all three of her children!

The next decision is to decide which brand of hpt to buy. I personally have tried just about all the brands that I could get a hold of. I have heard rumours that some are not as reliable as others and some may give a false positive. Below is a list of hpt’s--though not all that are available--and the amount of hCG they detect.

These tests detect 20-25 mIU/hCG:

AimStick Pregnancy Test detects 20 mIU

Clearblue Easy (U.K.) detects 25 mIU

Confirm 1-Step detects 25 mIU

CVS detects 25 mIU

Day Seven (CDN) detects 25 mIU

Health Check detects 25 mIU

Insta Test hCG detects 25 mIU

Lifesign One-Step detects 25 mIU

LifeSign 1 Midstream detects 25 mIU

One Step Be Sure detects 25 mIU

Rapid Self-Test (U.K.) detects 25 mIU

These tests detect 40-50 mIU/hCG:

Boots (U.K.) detects 50 mIU

Clearblue Easy (U.S.) detects 50 mIU

Early Bird One Step (U.K.) detects 50 mIU

early Pregnancy test detects 50 mIU

e.p.t. detects 40 mIU

First Response (U.K.) detects 40 mIU

Hannaford detects 50 mIU

Predictor (U.K.) detects 50 mIU

Rite-Aid detects 50 mIU

Selfcare detects 50 mIU

Target detects 50 mIU

These tests detect 100 mIU/hCG:

Answer detects 100 mIU

Conceive detects 100 mIU

Equate (Wal*Mart) detects 100 mIU

First Response (U.S.) detects 100 mIU

Precise detects 100 mIU

QTest detects 100 mIU

Walgreens detects 100 mIU

This test detects 150+ mIU/hCG:

Fact Plus detects 150-250 mIU

I used the hpt’s bought from www.by-his-mercies.com with this baby. They gave me a positive at 5 minutes. I used an e.p.t. and an early Pregnancy test to confirm my results at 14 and 16 days post ovulation. If you really want to be safe and to receive an accurate r esult, wait until the day that your period is due to test , otherwise you may receive a false negative. Or, if you’re like me, and feel pretty sure that you are pregnant , go ahead and test with a sensitive one--you may be pleasantly surprised. I know I was!

Author: Lori Ramsey

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