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| |    Home Pregnancy Tests by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. reviewed by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D. Pregnancy tests are designed to measure the pregnancy hormone human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG). Blood pregnancy tests measure the quantity of hCG in the blood, while urine tests simply measure the amount being excreted in--you guessed it--the urine. Home urine pregnancy tests The urine tests available today for home use are extremely sensitive--meaning they can identify pregnancy a few days before the period is even due. Most people don't need a blood test (which is more expensive) to determine that they are pregnant. Drugstores offer an array of pregnancy test options. Don't assume that the more expensive the test, the better; all urine home pregnancy tests are very accurate, no matter what the price. Besides cost, they differ only in the number of steps required, the time it takes to produce results, and how the results are displayed. How the tests work The principle of the urine pregnancy test involves a chemical reaction that creates a color change on a test strip. The higher the level of hCG in the urine, the more prominent the color change. Each test strip has a control spot or line with a known amount of hCG already on it that will change color (because of the chemical reaction) once you run the test. If hCG is present in your "test spot," it, too, will change color; if the control spot or line changes color but your test spot does not, it means that you ran the test properly and that you're not pregnant. Every test kit comes with detailed instructions and pictures of what positive and negative tests look like. Home-test limitations One downside to running a home pregnancy test too early is that the test may identify what is called a chemical pregnancy. This represents a cycle where the fertilized egg develops only a few cells, and then for unknown reasons stops growing and is absorbed by the body. A chemical pregnancy is more like a menstrual cycle in which conception didn't occur than a true miscarriage. The woman's period may come on time or be a little late, so that if the pregnancy test hadn't been run, she never would have had reason to believe she was pregnant. Because of this possibility, running a home pregnancy test too early can lead to false hopes and unnecessary disappointment. It's best to resist the urge to test too soon and wait at least until after your period is late. When to test Some recommendations call for doing the pregnancy test first thing in the morning, when the urine is more concentrated. This probably isn't necessary, though, unless you're choosing to test before you miss a period, when the amount of pregnancy hormone is so low that it may be hard to detect in dilute urine.
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