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Thanks to technology, you don’t even have to go to an ob-gyn (yet!) if you suspect that you are pregnant. The easiest way to find out is by taking a home pregnancy test. Just pee and wait for the test to detect levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone produced by a developing placenta, and find out if you have a baby on the way.
But how reliable are these kits? “Home pregnancy tests have come a long way over the years,” tells Stephen Rechner, M.D., the division chief of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at Spectrum Health in Michigan, USA, to Parents.com. “They can now detect pregnancy earlier and are accurate most any time of day.”
According to Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel, authors of What To Expect When You’re Expecting, once an embryo begins implanting itself in the uterus, between six to 12 days after fertilization, hCG can already be detected in the blood and urine. But it’s still possible for some pregnancy tests to fail at detecting hCG a week after conception.
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Other factors that may lead to a false negative include taking the test too early (before your scheduled period), using an expired pregnancy test, or taking the test incorrectly.
How do I know if the pregnancy test result is positive?
The most common pregnancy test kit would need two visible lines to appear to show a positive result. “If your test is showing a [second] line, no matter how faint it is, you’re pregnant,” wrote Murkoff and Mazel.
Even with this information, it’s easy to be thrown off or doubt the result of your pregnancy test once you see that faint line. So, we enlisted the help of members from our Facebook group Smart Parenting Village to get a clearer picture (ehem, pun intended). We asked for photos of their positive pregnancy tests and here’s what we found out:
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Two dark, visible lines means you’re pregnant
Mom Ivy Sanchez had been feeling “off” for a few weeks, but it didn’t cross her mind that she was pregnant. “I thought I was just putting on some weight,” she tells SmartParenting.com.ph.
Another mom, Belle Alconcel Salido, says, “My period was delayed but I didn’t want to get my hopes up because I’ve been disappointed a number of times already."
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Meanwhile, other moms, like Zanette Ortega, Leslie Tripoli-Bautista, and Kristin Valencia-Dy, had to take the test twice to get two visible lines.
“At two weeks, my first pregnancy test turned out negative,” shares Leslie.
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“I took three pregnancy tests,” shares Rona Dela Pena-Macario. But all of them had faint lines. “I showed it to our doctor and she told me yes, I was pregnant.” But because Rona had PCOS, she still found it hard to believe.
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A faint second line indicates that you are pregnant
Yzet Macay-Serrano tried the test three times: Twice, the results were negative.
got a faint second line on her first try so she doubted she was pregnant since she also had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
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RJ Bataan, who had been trying to get pregnant for a year, did not believe her test results, which showed a faint second line.
It took a lot to convince Mary Grace Belison since she had a negative result a week prior. When she saw a faint second line, she knew she was pregnant but still visited an ob-gyn to be sure.
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Angelica Tabulug, on the other hand, didn’t need convincing. “I believed the results right away,” she shares.
Even the faintest line still means you’re pregnant
For other moms, like Juleene Dela Cruz, getting an almost invisible line on their kits wasn't enough to convince them that they were expecting. She had stopped taking contraceptives for eight years and in that period, she did not get pregnant — ever. Even after missing her period for five days, she still could not believe it!
Ghreizy Decena-Limlingan had PCOS so she bought different brands of pregnancy kits and took a test for three consecutive days. Each day, the lines became more visible.
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Mina Balada was diagnosed with PCOS and while trying to get pregnant, her partner unfortunately passed away in April 2018. After a few months, her period was delayed. She took two tests in July, which were both positive. But after taking a test at her ob-gyn’s clinic, the result came out negative. Finally, she got a transvaginal ultrasound, and it turns out she was already a few months into her pregnancy!
Though Maria Fatima Erece already had a daughter 10 years ago, she had doubts that she would be able to get pregnant again since she was diagnosed with endemetriosis. After taking two tests with very faint lines, she went to an OB and her pregnancy was confirmed through a transvaginal ultrasound.
A pregnancy test is the quickest and cheapest way to know if you're expecting, but no matter how many positive home pregnancy tests you take, you still need to go to your doctor to confirm your pregnancy. A pregnancy blood test is more accurate than a home pregnancy test, plus, you'll be able to work your way to a healthy pregnancy.
How did you find out that you were pregnant? Tell us in the comments!
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