How does a home pregnancy test (HPT) work?

A home pregnancy test (HPT) is a urine test that can be purchased at your local drug store or pharmacy and easily conducted at home. If you are pregnant, then the urine home pregnancy test (HPT) can be positive as early as 10-11 days after ovulation and fertilization, i.e. several days before the next menstrual period. A positive pregnancy test depends on the amount of pregnancy hormone hCG in your urine, and the amount can be different from one woman to the other. Sometimes a urine test may be positive as early as 12 days or so after ovulation, that's 1-2 days before you expect your period.

However, if the urine pregnancy test is negative before you miss your period, that does not necessarily mean you aren't pregnant. About 98% of home urine pregnancy tests will be positive 15-16 days after ovulation and fertilization, or 1-2 days after you miss your period. A blood hCG test may become positive as early as 10-12 days after ovulation. keep in mind that different test have different values for what constitutes enough hCG to result in a positive pregnancy test, and it's worth it to research brands and accuracy before purchasing a home pregnancy test.

Is The Pregnancy Test 99 Percent Accurate?

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

Evaporation Line on Pregnancy Test

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

Can You Use an OPK as a Pregnancy Test?

OPKs have a high false positive as well as a high false negative rate for being pregnant. If an OPK is positive, you could still NOT be pregnant, and if it's negative you could still be pregnant. ... read more »

How Soon Will a Pregnancy Test Be Positive?

You want to take that test as soon as possible, but should you? ... read more »

Calculator: Is My Menstrual Period Late?

Is your period late or could you be pregnant? First, you must know when your last period was. Use this menstrual period calculator to see if your period is late or if a baby may be the way! ... read more »

How to Survive the First Trimester of Pregnancy in 12 Steps

The first trimester of the pregnancy brings about the most dramatic changes. Our 12 step program helps you survive this important trimester. ... 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 »

Why do I have no menstrual period (Amenorrhea) ?

I had no menstrual period for 2 months. What could be the cause? ... 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 »

Positive Home Pregnancy Test and Period

My home pregnancy test was positive but my period came ... read more »

Is There an Age Limit for Buying a Home Pregnancy Test?

There is a push to prevent teen pregnancy and that push has resulted in a drop in teen pregnancy rates, but that doesn’t mean teens are not having sex and that they no longer need home pregnancy tests. ... read more »

What to Expect at My First Prenatal Visit

If you recently had a positive home pregnancy test, scheduling your first prenatal visit is the next step. Having prenatal care is vital in order to ensure that both you and baby are healthy. ... read more »

Can Dreams Reveal Pregnancy Before A Home Pregnancy Test?

is it really possible to dream that you are pregnant before a positive pregnancy test? ... read more »

Pregnancy Landmarks: When Can We Identify Them?

As pregnancy progresses you can make the pregnancy diagnoses seeing several landmarks where you would normally expect to see the pregnancy development. ... read more »

The Cervical Cap For Contraception

The cervical cap is a contraceptive device made out of a soft rubber barrier that covers the cervix in order to prevent sperm from entering the uterus. In addition, spermicide is added to the cap to kill any sperm that may bypass the cap. ... 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 »

How to Use an OPK

Using an ovulation prediction kit is very similar to using an at home pregnancy test. The kits are designed with sticks that are used to collect urine directly from the urine stream. ... read more »

Positive Pregnancy Test After Ovulation

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

BBT During Pregnancy

Should I continue to take my BBT during pregnancy? ... read more »

OPK - What Does a Faint Line Mean?

Contrary to a pregnancy test a faint OPK line is not a positive line. ... read more »

Kim Kardashian Has a False Positive Pregnancy Test

In season 10 premiere of 'Keeping Up with The Kardashians,' we find out that Kim Kardashian is trying hard for another child. ... read more »

Two Different Test Results

What should I do if I get two different pregnancy test results? ... read more »

Better Prenatal Care with More Pregnancy Tests

Providing women who are having unprotected sex with a home pregnancy test could have a substantial impact on the health of potential newborns. ... read more »

How Home Pregnancy Tests Work

How home pregnancy tests (HPTs) work. ... read more »

Lighter Than Usual Period

Could I be pregnant even though I had a light period? ... read more »

Pregnancy Tests - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports 2003 Ratings for the best home pregnancy tests (HPT). ... read more »

HPT - How To

How do I do a home pregnancy test (HPT)? ... read more »

Darker Line More hCG

Does it mean the hCG is increasing? ... 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 »

The Very First Pregnancy Symptoms

When a couple is trying to conceive they can become obsessed looking for those first symptoms of pregnancy.  While the symptoms do vary from person to person there are many symptoms that are so common they can be useful to watch for.    ... read more »

What Are My Chances Being Pregnant With a Negative Pregnancy Test?

A repeatedly negative early pregnancy test when you missed your period means that you are not pregnant. ... 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 »

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 »

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 »

Feeling Pregnant With Negative Home Pregnancy Test (HPT)

I am feeling pregnant but got a negative home pregnancy test result, what should I do next? ... read more »

Early Home Pregnancy Test HPT

Several brands of home pregnancy tests claim to test for pregnancy before the missed period. These tests are more sensitive to hCG. ... read more »

False Positive False Negative Pregnancy Test

A false positive early pregnancy tests is a pregnancy test that is positive when in fact you are not pregnant. ... read more »

Negative Pregnancy Test and Missed No Period

Missed period and negative pregnancy test - How likely is pregnancy if the pregnancy test is negative? ... read more »

Amenorrhea - Missing Your Period - Pregnancy Diagnosis

Amenorrhea is the absence of a menstrual period. Missing your regular menstrual period is for most women the very first early pregnancy sign. ... read more »

Pregnant with a Negative Pregnancy Test?

Can you be pregnant with a negative pregnancy test and when should it be positive? ... read more »

Spotting With Positive HPT

Some bleeding early in pregnancy, maybe some drops or brown discharge, is also called 'spotting.' Spotting happens in 20-30% of pregnant women, usually around the time of the missed period. ... read more »

Urine HPTs on First Missed Period Day

How accurate are urine home pregnancy tests (HPTs) on first day of a missed period? ... read more »

Late Menstrual Period - What Next?

“My period is late, what do I do now?” This is probably the most frequent question we get from women who are trying to conceive (TTC.) The first step is finding out if you ovulated this month; the nex ... read more »

Early and Home Pregnancy Test Info and HPT and hCG levels

Early home pregnancy tests detect the pregnancy hormone hCG human chorionic gonadotropin in your urine. ... read more »

Two Pregnancy Tests - Different Results

It is common to get 2 different results on two separate pregnancy tests, especially if done very early in pregnancy and on the same day. ... read more »

How Do You Do a Home Pregnancy Test?

There are many different types of home pregnancy tests (HPTs). Most drugstores sell HPTs over the counter. ... read more »

Are expensive home pregnancy tests better than cheap ones?

You can find strips that turn colors to indicate pregnancy and more. As of late, pregnancy test prices have ranged from $3 to more than $20 each. Then, a new product hit the market. The dollar store pregnancy test. ... read more »