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Pregnancy Tests |
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This week on the Women's health forum a question about home pregnancy tests was asked with some rather stimulating discussions that followed. The first post asks the question: I am on day 32 of my cycle and I always start my period on day 28 or 29. I have only been late once before. My question is can a home pregnancy test be inaccurate? I took the test at 4:45 this morning (I am anxious) and I got a negative. But I am usually never late. Is there a chance I may be pregnant and the test was wrong? The following professional advice resulted: "Yes Jennifer, the test can be inaccurate, especially if the results are negative. In most medical tests false negatives are more common than false positives. The hormone the test is looking for (the name escapes me at this time) becomes more concentrated as the pregnancy progresses. However these tests are pretty reliable." Barbara Nesbitt Retired Nurse To all three questions a doctor from Texas says: Yes. Yes. Yes. Richard Chudacoff, MD A physician from California adds: "The urine pregnancy test could well be a false negative as Barbara explained. The hormone it looks for, Barbara, is human chorionic gonadotropin -- now you know why we doctors just tell you it's the "pregnancy hormone" :-)" Kelly Shanahan, MD Dr. Geffrey Klein of Houston Follows up with some more clarification and some relevant links: The test is looking for the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin. It is usually sensitive to 50 milli-international units. False negatives would be common at this gestational age. You might want to look at this internet source: So it seems like it's probably best to wait a week and repeat the test or head for your Ob/Gyn's office with a urine specimen. Either way you can't rush to any conclusions. Been there, done that, have the five kids in tee shirts! This will be a long and anxious week which probably doesn't help a late period either. Sometimes in life I have considered that the only thing more upsetting than getting my period was not getting my period! Warmest Regards,
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