Pregnancy testing checks for the presence of the pregnancy hormone, hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin, in your body. This hormone is produced within days after implantation, when the fertilized egg attaches to the wall of a woman's uterus. This usually happens about nine days after fertilization, with a range between 6-12 days. If you are pregnant, levels of hCG continue to rise rapidly, doubling early on every two to three days.

False Positive Pregnancy Test - Always Pregnant?

A positive pregnancy test usually means that you are pregnant. There are only a very few circumstances in which a false positive pregnancy test means that you are not pregnant . ... read more »

hCG Drops In Early Pregnancy

hCG is the pregnancy hoirmone which is produced by the placenta as early as 3-4 days after implantation. ... read more »

Pregnancy Test After hCG Injection Shot

I had an hCG human chorionic gonadotropin shot or injection to help me with ovulation. What will happen to the pregnancy test after my hCG injection? ... read more »

Twins and hCG Levels

Does a fast rising hCG level always indicate that you are carrying twins? What else do hCG levels signify? Could it be twins or is there really just one baby in there? ... read more »

Is The Pregnancy Test 99 Percent Accurate?

What does it mean when manufacturers claim their home pregnancy test HPT is 99% accurate? ... read more »

False Positive Pregnancy Test and Phantom HCG

A false positive hCG pregnancy test, or a positive hCG test when you are not actually pregnant rarely happens, but if it does, it can be seen both by blood and urine tests. ... read more »

Evaporation Line on Pregnancy Test

The evaporation line may appear after some time and falesly indicate a pregnancy. ... read more »

Pregnancy Tests - FAQs

What is a pregnancy test, how does it work, when is it positive, are there false positive or false negatives? Frequently asked questions about pregnancy tests ... read more »

The Relationship Between PMS and Pregnancy

Researchers are still not sure why many women get post-menstrual symptoms (PMS), but they are sure that there is no reliable relationship between PMS and pregnancy. ... read more »

Early Pregnancy Test - When to Do it

Should you do a pregnancy test before a missed period and what results can you expect? ... read more »

Home Pregnancy Tests: All Your Questions Answered

Taking a pregnancy test can be nerve-wracking ... and filled with questions! Here's everything you've always wanted to know about home pregnancy tests! ... read more »

Home Pregnancy Test vs. Pregnancy Test at Doctor

Sometimes, a woman might suspect she is pregnant even sooner. Symptoms such as headache, fatigue, and breast tenderness, can occur even before a missed period. The wait to know can be emotional. These days, many women first use urine home pregnancy tests (HPT) to find out. ... read more »

Pregnancy Tests - Introduction

How does a pregnancy test work? Pregnancy tests work by detecting human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone found only in pregnant women. There are both urine and blood pregnancy tests (HPTs) ... read more »

How to Take a Home Pregnancy Test

It might seem simple, but there can be many factors influencing the accuracy of your urine home pregnancy test. Learn how to improve the accuracy of your urine pregnancy test. ... read more »

Prenatal Blood Tests on Your First Visit

These tests screen and diagnose many conditions during pregnancy. ... read more »

Ethnic Distribution Of Blood Types

There are four blood types: O, A, B, and AB. The blood types have different racial and ethnic differences. ... read more »

Blood Test for Blood Type and Rh Status And Antibody Screen

At your first prenatal visit, the doctor will do several blood tests such as your blood type, whether it's type O, A, B, or AB, and the Rh status, whether it's Rh-negative or Rh-positive. ... read more »

First Trimester Tests: Nuchal Screening and Blood Test

The first-trimester screening also known as nuchal translucency screening, or NT, is a prenatal test, ultrasound and a blood test that can help determine the likelihood of having Down Syndrome. ... read more »

All About Amniocentesis

Amniocentesis is a procedure performed during pregnancy to examine a baby's chromosomes. Most often, an amniocentesis is done between 16-20 weeks of pregnancy (gestation). ... read more »

Amniocentesis and CVS

Many pregnant women over the age of 35 choose prenatal testing due to the increased chance of chromosome disorders with pregnancies occurring late in life, such as amniocentesis and CVS. ... read more »

Percentiles of Fetal Birth Weight

This table shows the percentiles of birthweights in grams by weeks of the pregnancy and gestational age. ... read more »

Pregnancy Plus

The best Prenatal Vitamins available ... read more »

What Is a Phantom hCG?

A positive blood pregnancy test without a pregnancy is also known as a 'false positive' test. There are many conditions which can give a phantom false positive hcg blood or urine pregnancy test. ... read more »

When To Take A Pregnancy Test To Get Best Results

Despite the claim that home pregnancy tests are effective as little as two to three days before the first day of your next menstrual cycle, the human body does not always live up to this expectation. ... read more »

Positive Pregnancy Test After Ovulation

When does the HPT become positive? ... read more »

How Do Early Pregnancy Tests Work?

Pregnancy tests detect the pregnancy hormone hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin. Early urine pregnancy tests are usually positive about 12-14 days after ovulation. ... read more »

What Does the Blood Pregnancy Test Reveal?

A pregnancy test is run by the obstetrician during the first office visit to confirm the presence of the hCG hormone and confirm the pregnancy. ... read more »

Top 5 Questions About Pregnancy Tests

Before jumping into a home pregnancy test or other form of pregnancy test, it is best to understand how they work and the best way to use them. ... read more »

Fetal Testing and Monitoring

Fetal testing and monitoring are done to ensure that a fetus is healthy and growing at an acceptable rate. Fetal tests can help detect potential and actual problems. This gives the doctors an opportunity to treat the problem before it further develops, if at all possible. ... read more »

Faint Positive Pregnancy Test

Have a faint positive pregnancy test? You either see a second line on the pregnancy test or you don't, but a faint line may not be what you think. ... read more »

When Is the Blood hCG Pregnancy Test Positive?

A blood pregnancy test usually becomes positive within 3-4 days after implantation, or several days before your expected menstrual period, when  hCG levels have reached a high enough level. ... read more »

Search the Literature

Find published articles ... read more »

How Early Can Pregnancy Be Detected?

How early can pregnancy be detected? Learn all about pregnancy tests, false positives and false negatives, and how early you can take a pregnancy test! ... read more »

hCG not doubling

My hCG is not doubling, what's wrong ... read more »

Twins When HCG Increasing Too Fast

In most pregnancies, the normal hCG rises is at least 60% over 48 hours. In twins it may rise much more, but  it's not possible to diagnose a twin pregnancy just from the hCG levels alone. ... read more »

How Soon Can I Take a Pregnancy Test?

Most current pregnancy test kits (sensitivity 25 mIU/ml) detect hCG in the urine as early as 3-4 days after implantation, though it often takes longer. ... read more »

Low and High hCG Levels

What do they mean? ... read more »

I Have Early Pregnancy Symptoms, Could I Be Pregnant?

If you think you may be pregnant and or you're experiencing some possible symptoms read here more about pregnancy diagnosis! ... read more »

hCG Levels and Pregnancy Testing

This article is about normal hCG pregnancy hormone levels implantation symptoms and bleeding and early pregnancy tests ... read more »

hCG Increasing Fast

There is no sufficient scientific evidence that with twins there is always a faster-than-usual rise in hCG. Normal hCG values can vary up to 20 times in normal pregnancies. ... read more »

hCG in Early Pregnancy

What is a normal hCG level? ... read more »

What Is a Glucose Challenge Test?

Before and during pregnancy there is usually a two-step approach to diagnosing diabetes: Glucose Challenge Test (GCT) and Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT). ... read more »

Early hCG Levels

When is the HPT positive? ... read more »

What Affects Normal hCG Levels In Pregnancy?

Human chorionic gonadotropin, more frequently referred to as hCG, is a hormone that is produced during pregnancy. ... read more »

Progesterone and Pregnancy Tests

Can progesterone supplements influence the test? ... read more »

Home Pregnancy Tests

Consumer Reports tested 18 pregnancy tests to find out which brands work best. Buy the top performers and follow their tips for the most accurate results. ... read more »

Pregnancy Tests

Which pregnancy tests are best? ... read more »

Normal hCG Levels

When a blood pregnancy test is run, the hCG level will be reported to the obstetrician. This level will give the doctor a look into the age and the health of the pregnancy. ... read more »

Negative Blood hCG Pregnancy Test

Could I still be pregnant even though my blood hCG test was negative? ... read more »

Low and Slow Rising hCG Blood Levels in Pregnancy Test

When is the hCG titer in the blood considered to be too low and when is it considered to be slow rising? ... read more »

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