

But before we get to the top picks, it’s important to point out the difference between a home pregnancy test and a blood test. With that in mind, you're probably wondering what the best pregnancy test is. The good news? Some tests clearly come out on top when it comes to accuracy, reliability, and usability, making it easier to narrow your choices. Sometimes, remembering that you have other options - and that a negative test result isn’t a dead end - can help you stay optimistic from one month to the next.Picking out a pregnancy test can feel overwhelming, especially when you consider the number of brands and types available, and of course, what’s at stake. If you’re hoping to conceive biologically, think about whether you would also be open to adoption or fostering.


If you’re hoping to conceive naturally, know where you’ll go for fertility treatments if necessary. Make it something you look forward to, so it’s more of a positive experience and less of a consolation prize. When you feel yourself getting stressed about conceiving, have a go-to activity that calms you down. You’re still a couple, and it’s important to protect the health of your relationship.
PREGNANCY TEST ACCURATE 5 DAYS BEFORE MISSED PERIOD HOW TO
How to deal with the roller coaster of trying to conceiveĪlmost everything having to do with pregnancy involves waiting: waiting until your period is due to take a pregnancy test, waiting those looooooong 3 minutes to check the results, waiting until the next month to try again, waiting 9 whole months for your baby to be born once you actually get pregnant. In these cases, a blood test or ultrasound performed at your doctor’s office is the best way to confirm if you are, in fact, pregnant. Hormones rise continually throughout pregnancy if you have irregular periods or lost track of when you were last supposed to get one, you could be far enough along in your pregnancy that an OTC test won’t read your higher levels of hCG. When hCG levels are so high that the test misses them completely, it’s called the “ hook effect,” and it can happen when you’re further along in your pregnancy than just a few weeks. Most OTC pregnancy tests are designed to recognize hCG levels within a certain range, so if your hCG levels are lower or higher than what the test is able to detect, you’ll get a negative result. There are varying reasons for this, including certain conditions that cause fluctuating hormone levels that may give you period-like bleeding - thus preventing you from taking a test until a later stage of pregnancy. It’s super rare, and often the stuff sensational news stories are made of, but it’s possible to have a cryptic pregnancy that conventional pregnancy tests never detect. These types of pregnancies are rare but can turn serious if left untreated, so if you also have severe pain or vaginal bleeding, seek medical care ASAP. Because your placenta won’t grow like it should, your hCG levels won’t always rise to detectable amounts (although in many cases they will, and you’ll get a positive test) - but you may have pregnancy symptoms. When a fertilized egg implants somewhere outside the uterus, it’s called an ectopic pregnancy and, sadly, it’s not viable. You’re pregnant, but you have a rare situation on your handsīecause we like to keep you in-the-know, there are some less-common scenarios that can lead to a false negative on a pregnancy test:
