So there you are in your bathroom, anxiously watching the timer on your phone count down. You hear the ding; you hesitantly look; and…. One line…. Negative. The first rush of feeling is relief.
But then – wait a minute. Your period is 6 days late, and you are NEVER late. You have been nauseous, tired, and your breasts have been really tender- all classic pregnancy signs. Okay, you decide to take the second test in the kit first thing in the morning. That’s supposed to be the most accurate time to take it, right? You go through the same process in the morning, diligently following the instructions, and get the same result. What’s going on?? You decide you need to have a laboratory quality test done, just to be sure, so you Google where to go.
Pregnancy tests are designed to detect the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). Although some home tests say that they are accurate as early as 7 days from conception, for the most accurate result it is best to wait 1-2 weeks until after you’ve missed your period to test. If the result is negative and you still feel that you may be pregnant, repeat the test in 1 week. Although rare, a urine pregnancy test can have a false negative result due to a “hook effect” which has to do with the hCG concentrations in the urine. In this case, a blood pregnancy test would be needed to confirm pregnancy.
At Gateway, our urine pregnancy tests are > 99% accurate. Our Registered Nurse is available to discuss your result with you, as well as recommend and refer you for further testing if needed. So if you think you might be pregnant, let us help you with the first step- a FREE laboratory quality pregnancy test.
