How Soon Can You Take a Home Pregnancy Test

Have you just missed your period and are curious how soon you can get an accurate reading from a home pregnancy test? If you go to the drugstore, you will see many products that claim that you can get an accurate reading as soon as the day you miss your period. Find out exactly how true that is and what could happen if you take the test too soon.

When you go to the drugstore to purchase your home pregnancy test, you will likely see several products promising you accurate pregnancy test results when you are as little as one day late. The truth is that while your pregnancy can be detected this early, sometimes it won’t be.

You can take one of these over the counter tests as soon as you miss your period, but it may be too soon and the test could give you a false negative result. It is considered best to wait at least a week after you miss your period to take an over the counter home pregnancy test.

Another way to increase the chances that you get an accurate reading is to take the pregnancy test first thing in the morning when your urine has been in your bladder for a longer time. The first urine of the morning has the highest concentration of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which is what most modern pregnancy tests detect.

Be sure to read and follow the exact directions that come with your home pregnancy test. Each test is different and some have specific steps to be preformed.

In general, taking a home pregnancy test is an easy task. You simply hold the stick (or whatever your test came as) under your stream of urine for a few seconds. Then, you just wait a bit for the results. Look at the example that came with your test to know exactly what to look for as the test develops.

If you test negative and you still have not had your period after another couple of days, you can always test again or call your doctor. Doctors offices use urine testing but can also preform blood testing that is more accurate at detecting early pregnancy.