Faint Positive Pregnancy Test

With the introduction of home pregnancy kits, it has become easier as well as convenient for women to confirm whether they are pregnant. A woman is called pregnant when the fertilized egg is attached to the uterine lining. When this happens, the placenta starts releasing a glycoprotein hormone called hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin). The concentration of hCG in the body increases as the woman progresses in her pregnancy. This also helps in determining whether a woman is pregnant as the pregnancy test looks for the presence of hCG in the urine. One has to either dip the pregnancy test strip in the urine or hold it against the stream of urine to test whether one is pregnant. If the test shows just one pink line, the woman is not pregnant and if the test show two adjacent pink lines, it is an indication that the woman is expecting. However, though this is very simple, sometimes, women may only see a faint pink line on the pregnancy test. Though the appearance of the pink line, however faint, does indicate a positive pregnancy, it can cause a lot of confusion. Hence, it is important to know the reasons behind it.

Faint Positive Line on Home Pregnancy Test

The reason for pregnancy test with a faint positive outcome cannot be attributed to just one factor. Rather, there are several reasons that can give rise to such a thing. So if you see a faint line on your home pregnancy test, you ought to know the reason which caused it. Take a look at some of the things that can cause this.

Early Testing
After the implantation of the uterus, it actually takes some time for the hCG level to rise in the body. Hence, if you conduct the test very early, i.e., before you even missed your period, you may have a faint positive test outcome because of insufficient level of hormone hCG. Sometimes, when the test is done soon after ovulation, the chances of getting a faint positive test result is higher. The home pregnancy test should be done ten days after ovulation, to get accurate results.

Diluted Urine
The instructions of the pregnancy test say that the test should be conducted early in the morning, as soon as one gets up. This is because the urine in the morning is more concentrated and hence, can give accurate results. However, as the day progresses, the urine gets diluted and chances are there that the tests done later in the day show a negative or may be a faint line. This happens usually when the pregnancy test is taken during early pregnancy.

Pregnancy Test Sensitivity
Though all pregnancy tests are effective in determining whether a woman is pregnant, these tests differ in sensitivity which may affect the result. Pregnancy test sensitivity can range from 20 MIU/L to 100 MIU/L (milliInternational Units per Liter). A pregnancy test which has 20 or 30 MUI/L is more sensitive than those tests which have more than 50 MUI/L. Higher the sensitivity of the kit, the more accurate it is in determining pregnancy during the early stages. For instance, pregnancy tests which have 20 MIU can determine pregnancy even with 20 hCG level. On the other hand, a pregnancy test which has 50 MIU sensitivity may show a negative result or may be faint line with such low hCG level. Hence, it is always better to invest on a pregnancy test which has high sensitivity.

Evaporation Line
Every pregnancy test specifies a time limit after urine exposure, within which the test result should be read. Any result after this specified time is considered to be false. For instance, a faint positive test after 10 minutes does not indicate a positive pregnancy, rather such a thing is called evaporation line. Here, the urine evaporates from a pregnancy test, sometimes leaving a faint mark on it.

Chemical Pregnancy
Sometimes, if you experience a faint positive test and then negative test after a few days, this can be an indication of chemical pregnancy or early miscarriage. Experts are of the opinion that almost 20% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, even before the onset of the symptoms. In other words, the fertilized egg gets attached itself to the uterine lining, but does not develop any further, thus, leading to miscarriage. In such case, you may see a faint line on your pregnancy test, but on rechecking you may get a negative result. This can also be the case, if you get a faintly positive test and bleeding after a few days.

Apart from the reasons given above, there are several other factors that can cause this. Sometimes, if the test is done with a pregnancy test kit which has passed its expiry date, the chance of getting a faint line on the pregnancy test is higher. Other than that, conducting the test in an improper manner, i.e., not following the instructions written on the pack properly can also cause the appearance of a faint line on the test. So, if you get such a result on your pregnancy test, one thing you can do is to redo the test after a few days. If you are pregnant, you will see a dark line on the test. Nevertheless, consulting a trusted gynecologist will be advisable.