Which pregnancy test is best?

To work out the answer that question you first have to know how home pregnancy tests work. Basically they detect the presence of the pregnancy hormone hCG (Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin), in your urine. This pregnancy hormone is produced in your body when a fertilised egg implants in your uterus (up to five to seven days after ovulation). It is secreted by the cells which will form the placenta. rnWhile it is true that technically you can be “not pregnant” and then “pregnant” a second later, this hormone is usually hard to trace in the urine until about six to 14 days after fertilisation. So for those few days a pregnancy test is unlikely to be accurate. Its best to wait until you’ve missed a period and have felt some pregnancy symptoms before doing a home pregnancy test as it would then be far more accurate and really just used to confirm what you probably already know to be true! As for the question which pregnancy test is best? All pregnancy tests work on the same principle, but some pregnancy tests are more sensitive and can detect that you're pregnant after only a few days (when you only have a trace of hCG in your body). You can tell from the information that comes on the package. Concentrations of hCG are reported in milli-International Units (mIU) per millilitre. A test with a sensitivity of 20 mIU/ml is more sensitive than one with a sensitivity of 50 mIU/ml. Many tests suggest you use the test on your first pee of the day because any hCG in your system will become more concentrated in your urine overnight. The best pregnancy test for you may not be the same as the best one for your friend. For example some ask you to simply pee on a test stick while others need you to catch your urine in a small cup, and dip a testing strip into your sample. Or a dropper may be provided to place a small sample into a testing well. If you are doing the test away from home, the pee on a stick may be the easiest option. Some pregnancy tests give their results as a pink or blue line on the test strip. Others may have a plus or minus sign, or change the colour of your urine sample. Smart digital tests actually spell it out for you saying “pregnant" or "not pregnant" in a window. Others also give an estimate of how many weeks ago conception took place. Check out the different packages and see which pregnancy test is best for you.