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Late rule, exhaustion, weird sensations… What if this time was the right one? We’ve been watching for the slightest sign of pregnancy for months. To get confirmation, we go to the pharmacy to buy a test. Positive or negative, we feverishly wait for the result to appear. “+++++” The mark is very clear on the test and our life is turned upside down forever. Sure: we’re expecting a little baby!
Pregnancy tests have been around for over 40 years and although they have improved over the years, the principle has never really changed. These products are measured in the urine of women chorionic gonadotropin hormone levels (beta-hCG) secreted by the placenta.
Reliability of pregnancy tests: the margin of error
Pregnancy tests all display on their packaging “99% reliable from the expected date of menstruation”. On this point, there is no doubt that the quality of pregnancy tests on the market has been found to be compliant on several occasions by the Medicines Agency (ANSM). However, to ensure that you have the right result, you must follow the instructions for use. : wait for the expected day of your period and do the test on the urine in the morning, still on an empty stomach, because the hormone level is more concentrated. If the result is negative and you have doubts, you can retest two or three days later.
Ideally, if your period is late, it is first to check your temperature in the morning before getting out of bed. If it is greater than 37 °, take the pregnancy test, but if it is less than 37 °, it usually means that there was no ovulation and that the delay in menstruation is due to ovulation disorder and not pregnancy. False positive responses are much rarer. They can occur in the event of a recent miscarriage because traces of the beta hormone hCG sometimes persist in the urine and blood for 15 days to a month.
Early pregnancy test: scam or progress?
Pregnancy tests keep getting better and better. Even more sensitive, so-called early tests now make it possible to detect the pregnancy hormone up to 4 days before your period. What should we think ? Caution, ” a test done too early can be negative even though there is a beginning pregnancy Insists Dr. Bellaish-Allart, vice-president of the National College of Obstetrician Gynecologists. “ It takes a sufficient level of hormones in the urine to be formally detected. »In this case, we are far from 99% reliability. A closer look at the leaflet reveals that four days before the presumed start date of menstruation, these tests are not likely to detect that one in 2 pregnancies.
So is it really worth buying this type of product?
For Dr Vahdat, these early tests are interesting because “ women today are in a hurry and if they are pregnant, as much as they know quickly “. Moreover, ” if you suspect an ectopic pregnancy, it is better to know it right away », Adds the gynecologist.
How to choose your pregnancy test?
Another question, how to choose between the different ranges offered in pharmacies and soon in supermarkets? Especially since there are sometimes significant price differences. End of the suspense: classic strip, electronic display… En reality, all pregnancy tests are equal in terms of reliability, it’s just the shape that changes. Of course, some products are easier to use and it is true that the words ” Speakers ” or ” Not pregnant Can not be confusing, unlike colored bands which are not always very sharp.
Last little novelty: thetests with estimation of the age of pregnancy. The concept is attractive: in a few minutes you can know how long you are pregnant. Here again, caution is in order. The level of beta-hCG, the pregnancy hormone, differs from woman to woman. ” For a four week pregnancy, this rate can vary from 3000 to 10 Explains Dr Vahdat. “All patients do not have the same secretions”. This type of test therefore has limits. Short, for a 100% reliability, we will therefore prefer the laboratory blood analysis which has the advantage of detecting pregnancy very early, from the 7th day after fertilization.