Early pregnancy test: is it a good idea or a bad idea to take your test very early?


It is a dilemma that many women find themselves facing. After unsafe sex or seeing potential pregnancy symptoms, should you get tested? And above all, can we really be assured of its reliability? First of all, be aware that pregnancy tests sold today in pharmacies, supermarkets or on the internet are very sensitive. On contact with urine, they are able to detect, in a few seconds, the presence of a high level of beta-HCG (pregnancy hormone) and indicate with near-exact precision at how many weeks a woman is pregnant. .

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This guarantee of reliability is also, according to Marie-Claude Benattar, obstetrician-gynecologist, one of the reasons that push women to carry out pregnancy tests early. “These tests are able to detect pregnancy after only one day of late period, so 15-16 days of true pregnancy, which is still interesting. Before, when a pregnancy was suspected, we had to go see the doctor, tell him about the late period so that he could give us a prescription, then we went to the laboratory to take a blood test … Now everything is faster, so if there is any doubt, we will do a pregnancy test. ” Yet so much speed can sometimes cause great pain. “In the event of an ultra-early pregnancy, the woman learns that she is pregnant very early, and loses her baby a few weeks later, notes the gynecologist. Psychologically, it’s really not easy, and early detection doesn’t help in these cases. “

How does a pregnancy test work?

When fertilization occurs, the egg and the placenta secrete the pregnancy hormone beta-HCG. The sensors of the pregnancy test are therefore responsible for detecting the presence of an abnormally high amount of this hormone. On contact with urine, the test changes color. Today, thanks to research, pregnancy tests sold in pharmacies and supermarkets are 99% reliable.

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However, in order not to risk distorting the results, certain precautions for use should be taken. For example, it is recommended to perform the pregnancy test with the first urine in the morning, which is more concentrated. One thing to watch out for is also not to drink too much before doing so, so as not to dilute beta-HCG levels.

When to take a pregnancy test?

If the temptation to perform a pregnancy test at the first doubts (or even before) is very real, health professionals have another opinion on the question. According to Marie-Claude Benattar, “There is no need to rush. If you’re a day late, don’t run to the pharmacy to buy a test. Wait at least a week, because anyway, only ultrasound can confirm pregnancy and it is detectable after five weeks and six to seven days. Pregnancy monitoring, as well as prenatal examinations, therefore only start at this time. After only a few days of delay, you may also find yourself facing a false negative and not understanding. You might as well wait a little bit to get really fixed. “

Beware of “false negatives”

There is one risk of performing an early pregnancy test: that of being confronted with a “false-negative”. What do we mean by that? Take the example of a woman whose menstrual cycle is irregular, either longer or shorter. Instead of ovulating on D-14, she ovulates on D-18. After seeing a day late, she decides to take a pregnancy test. Spoiler: he will be negative, because his ovulation occurred later. It would have been necessary to take the test two or three days later, for it to be positive. “It is for this reason that pregnancy tests are sold in pairs, specifies Marie-Claude Benattar. If the first is negative one or two days late, it can be positive three or four days later. Once again, this is also why taking an early pregnancy test can lead to misunderstandings. ” Note that while it frequently happens that a pregnancy test is a “false-negative”, the reverse is however very rare.

When and how to use a pregnancy test?

This is because getting a “false-positive” test hardly ever happens, unless your body has high beta-hCG for some other reason. This can happen especially if you have recently been pregnant, if you are taking fertility-promoting treatments containing hCG, or if you have rare ovarian cysts. Otherwise, a test is rarely positive for no reason!