When to Take a Home Pregnancy Test

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Home pregnancy tests are a simple way to tell you if you are pregnant or not. These tests are designed to check your urine for a human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone, which is produced when a fertilized egg attaches the the uterine wall. This typically happens 6 days past fertilization and your hCG levels will continue to rise quickly. There are many types of at-home pregnancy tests, but most urine tests performed at home are 97% accurate. This accuracy, however, will change depending on when you take a home pregnancy test.

How Home Pregnancy Tests Work
There are a few types of pregnancy tests, although the tests that detect hCG are most common. Some tests can also detect a variation of the pregnancy hormone known as hyperglycosylated hCG, or H-hCG. While regular hCG is produced once the embryo implants into the uterine wall, H-hCG begins to release much earlier, usually right after fertilization. Tests that look for H-hCG can be used up to one week earlier than a hCG test with accurate results.

When to Take a Home Pregnancy Test
Timing when you take a home pregnancy test will reduce the risk of false negatives or false positives, which are also known as very early miscarriages. Waiting at least 7 days past your missed period will make the at-home test most accurate. You should also take an at-home pregnancy test using the first urine of the morning, which will have the highest concentration of hCG, if present. If your period is irregular, wait to take a pregnancy test until you’re past the longest cycle you typically have.