Pregnancy Tests measure the amount of HCG that is in the woman's blood or urine. HCG is the hormone which is produced by the corpus luteum. It is the only hormone that is used to determine pregnancy. Most women produce about 25 miu of HCG roughly 10 days after conception. This amount normally doubles every other day.

The majority of name brand pregnancy tests require at least 50-100 miu of HCG to produce a positive result. Therefore, it is wise to wait until you have missed your period before testing. If you test before, you could get a false-negative when in fact you are pregnant, you just haven't produce enough hormone. A blood test (or serum test) acts in the same way as a urine test, however, pregnancy can be determined much earlier. The pregnancy hormone, HCG, can be detected as early as 7-10 days after conception using a blood test.

If you have all or some of the symptoms of pregnancy and still have a negative result, please see a doctor as soon as possible. Your baby is depending on you.

Go back to Lynne's Ultimate Pregnancy Page

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page