Home Pregnancy Test

What really amazes me is the progress medical science has made. Gone are the days when pregnancy was confirmed based on the vomiting and the fainting spree and that knowing look on the face of other womenfolk in the house (at least that’s what they showed in movies!!)   Thank god we don’t have to rely on those tell tale signs anymore. One of the easiest ways to confirm pregnancy is to simply take the Home Pregnancy Test. This is especially convenient for women who are trying to get pregnant so that you don’t have to run to your health care provider every time you suspect that you are pregnant!! It is very simple to use and can be done within the privacy of your home.   In India, one can choose from various brandsPregcolorcard pregnancy kit, Velocit Pregnancy test kit etc. I took the Velocit Pregnancy test kit it was fairly simple to use and the instructions were not too complicated.  

How it works?  

All home pregnancy kit detects the presence of hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) in your urine. It appears in pregnant women’s urine in approx 20 days after her last menstrual period. The hCG level rises rapidly after this.    

Interpreting the results

  It’s fairly simple. If single line or band appears it means that the test in negative. If you see two lines on the test kit, it means that the result is positive. If you get a faint line, then don’t get disheartened, try the test again after few days and you will be able to see a darker line.  
However, some times home pregnancy test might give a false positive result i.e. you may get a positive result although you are not pregnant. This can happen due to certain medical condition, improper testing or defective test kit. So it is always better to confirm the pregnancy by the doctor once you get a positive result on the home pregnancy test before announcing it to the world!  
Similarly, you might get false negative results too!! The test will show negative, but you might be actually pregnant!! This can happen if you take the test too early or the pregnancy test kit might be defective. If you get a false negative result, then try the test after 4-5 days again. By then the hCG level in urine might rise and you may get a positive result.  
Home pregnancy tests are not considered 100% accurate. You need to visit a doctor and get a blood test done to check the beta hCG levels which will confirm the pregnancy.