Pregnancy Testing - When to Do It? (Pregnancy photography)

July 11, 2008 at 12:30 pm · Filed under Pregnancy Exercise

Tip! Reducing the risk during pregnancy: Women in the past often talked about the need to take it easy during pregnancy. During the 1980s and 1990s there was a tendency to downplay this need as women evolved in the work place.

When trying to conceive and to have a baby it all starts with a pregnancy test. Well, not really, but we leave the romantic part out of this discussion as this is not really something for the public. The timing of when to take a pregnancy test partially depends on how soon you are trying to find out if you are pregnant or not. Different pregnancy tests require different timing.

In general there are two basic types of pregnancy tests available nowadays. The two different kinds of pregnancy tests do either test your urine or your blood. Both tests look for the pregnancy hormone in your body that is only present if you are pregnant. The “pregnancy” hormone is referred to as ‘human chorionic gonadotropin’, or “hCG”. Modern blood tests can detect hCG already 6 to 8 days after having made love and have ovulated. Urine based pregnancy tests can detect the presence of the pregnancy hormone in your body about 14 days after ovulation.

Tip! Nausea - morning sickness is the name given to feeling nauseated when pregnant. Of the 10 pregnancy signs, only about half of pregnant women experience nausea, and feeling nauseated can happen any time of the day or night.

Pregnancy tests using your blood to determine if you are pregnant need to be done under medical control - usually at your OB. Pregnancy tests that test for the pregnancy hormone in your urine are home-based tests. Home pregnancy tests are convenient, inexpensive and are discreet. A urine based pregnancy test should be done using in the early morning. The morning urine shows the strongest concentration of the pregnancy hormone. A pregnancy test using your blood is not tight to a certain time of the day to deliver better results.

Tip! Don’t use any medication on the skin: Be careful of topical medications during pregnancy and during breast-feeding. Consult your doctor before use.

Urine based pregnancy tests are often used too early and the test results are not clear enough. Follow-up testing is required to be certain. As pregnancy tests are not cheap this is unfortunate for the woman doing the test, but very fortunate for the manufacturers of these tests. Waiting an additional before taking the first test is difficult - especially if you are trying to conceive for quite a while.

If you feel you are pregnant but the home pregnancy test shows a negative test result, it is recommended to wait at least 24-48 hours before repeating such a test. Sometimes it is also just the brand that is being used. Different tests used at the same time sometimes show more clear results.

Tip! You’ve had ectopic pregnancy before. Although not really common, the risk of it happening all over again still exists.

Being pregnant is a wonderful experience. Getting confirmation about being pregnant can be frustrating or exciting. Having enough patience and faith will help a woman to get through the “endless” waiting period before it makes sense taking a pregnancy test.

About the Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and international book author. Christoph operates a successful Pregnancy and Parenting Website. One of the other websites he maintains can be found at Pregnancy Announcements ecards.

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