Using A Pregnancy Testing Kit

You will be feeling excited when you have missed a period. In order to find out if you have conceived, many women will choose for a urine test. This test measures rising levels of the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), which is produced by the blastocyst about a week after fertilization has taken place. You can easily go to any of the pharmacy nearby to purchase the pregnancy testing kit. These are accurate and simple to perform and offer the great advantages of speed, privacy and convenience. The test strip or wand is packaged in a plastic container that looks like a tampon applicator. Before you use it, please check the sell-by date and read the instructions carefully. Most kits advise you to perform the test several days after your first missed period, although it may be positive earlier. The result may be negative if you take the test too early and there is too little HCG in your urine.

To test it, all you have to do is sit on the loo and pass some fresh urine over the strip. The concentration of HCG is always highest in your early morning urine. Therefore, it is advisable to test it when you have your first fresh urine of the day. When the HCG in your urine comes into contact with the test strip it produces a colour change. At first a blue line or pink circle appears in the test window to confirm that the test kit is working, followed in a matter of minutes by a second blue line or a pink circle in the results window if you are pregnant. There is always a second test strip in the kits. So it is a good idea to check a borderline positive result with a follow up test a week or so later. Sadly, some positive tests become negative later on because the embryo has not been able to implant successfully and will be followed shortly by your menstrual period.