Aside from that most remarkable of diagnostic tools, a woman is intuition (some women "feel" they are pregnant within moments of conception), modern medical science is still your best bet when it comes to diagnosing a pregnancy accurately.
Luckily, these days there are many ways to find out for sure that you have got a baby on board: The Home Pregnancy Test.
It is as easy as one-two-pee, and you can do it all in the privacy and comfort of your own bathroom.
Home pregnancy tests are not only quick and accurate, but you can even start using some brands before you have missed your period (though accuracy will get better as you get closer to P-day).
All home pregnancy test measure urinary levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, a (developing) placenta-produced hormone of pregnancy.
Human chorionic gonadotropin finds its way into your bloodstream and urine almost immediately after an embryo begins implanting in the uterus, between 6 and 12 days after fertilization.
As soon as human chorionic gonadotropin can be detected in your urine, you can (theoretically) get a positive reading.
But there is a limit to how soon these home pregnancy test can work-they are sensitive, but not always that sensitive.
One week after conception there is human chorionic gonadotropin in your urine, but it is not enough for the home pregnancy test to pick up-which means that if you test seven days before your expected period, you are likely to get a false negative even if you are pregnant.
Just can not wait to pee on that stick? Some tests promise 60 percent accuracy four days before your expected period.
Not a betting woman? Wait until the day your period is expected, and you will have about a 90 percent chance of netting the correct result.
Test a week later, and the accuracy rate jumps to 97 percent.
Whenever you decide to take the resting plunge, the good news is that false negative-which means that if your test is positive, you can be, too.
The other good news: Because home pregnancy test provide a very accurate diagnosis very early in pregnancy-earlier than you would probably consider consulting a physician or midwife-they can give you the opportunity to start taking optimum care of your self within days of conception.
Still, medical follow-up to the test is essential.
If the result is positive, have it confirmed by a blood test and a complete prenatal checkup.
The Blood Test.
The more sophisticated blood pregnancy test can detect pregnancy with virtually 100 percent accuracy as early as one week after conception (barring lab error), using just a few drop of blood.
It can also help date the pregnancy by measuring the exact amount of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood, since human chorionic gonadotropin values changes as pregnancy progresses.
Many practitioners order both a urine and a blood test to be doubly certain of the diagnosis.
The medical exam.
Though a medical exam can be performed to confirm the diagnosis of a pregnancy, with today is accurate home pregnancy test and blood tests, the medical exam-which looks for physical signs of pregnancy such as enlargement of the uterus, color change in the texture of the cervix-is almost beside the point.
Still, getting that first exam and beginning regular prenatal care is not.
Luckily, these days there are many ways to find out for sure that you have got a baby on board: The Home Pregnancy Test.
It is as easy as one-two-pee, and you can do it all in the privacy and comfort of your own bathroom.
Home pregnancy tests are not only quick and accurate, but you can even start using some brands before you have missed your period (though accuracy will get better as you get closer to P-day).
All home pregnancy test measure urinary levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, a (developing) placenta-produced hormone of pregnancy.
Human chorionic gonadotropin finds its way into your bloodstream and urine almost immediately after an embryo begins implanting in the uterus, between 6 and 12 days after fertilization.
As soon as human chorionic gonadotropin can be detected in your urine, you can (theoretically) get a positive reading.
But there is a limit to how soon these home pregnancy test can work-they are sensitive, but not always that sensitive.
One week after conception there is human chorionic gonadotropin in your urine, but it is not enough for the home pregnancy test to pick up-which means that if you test seven days before your expected period, you are likely to get a false negative even if you are pregnant.
Just can not wait to pee on that stick? Some tests promise 60 percent accuracy four days before your expected period.
Not a betting woman? Wait until the day your period is expected, and you will have about a 90 percent chance of netting the correct result.
Test a week later, and the accuracy rate jumps to 97 percent.
Whenever you decide to take the resting plunge, the good news is that false negative-which means that if your test is positive, you can be, too.
The other good news: Because home pregnancy test provide a very accurate diagnosis very early in pregnancy-earlier than you would probably consider consulting a physician or midwife-they can give you the opportunity to start taking optimum care of your self within days of conception.
Still, medical follow-up to the test is essential.
If the result is positive, have it confirmed by a blood test and a complete prenatal checkup.
The Blood Test.
The more sophisticated blood pregnancy test can detect pregnancy with virtually 100 percent accuracy as early as one week after conception (barring lab error), using just a few drop of blood.
It can also help date the pregnancy by measuring the exact amount of human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood, since human chorionic gonadotropin values changes as pregnancy progresses.
Many practitioners order both a urine and a blood test to be doubly certain of the diagnosis.
The medical exam.
Though a medical exam can be performed to confirm the diagnosis of a pregnancy, with today is accurate home pregnancy test and blood tests, the medical exam-which looks for physical signs of pregnancy such as enlargement of the uterus, color change in the texture of the cervix-is almost beside the point.
Still, getting that first exam and beginning regular prenatal care is not.
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