Pregnancy Tests Before Missed Period

Early detection of pregnancy is a major concern for all women of childbearing ages, where some conceive with huge joy while others with worry. As we know, every month women ovaries release egg which when fertilized by a sperm implants itself in the uterus lining. Hence if fertilization occurs, the woman won't have her monthly menstrual cycle and is consider to be pregnant. Though a missed or late period is one of the most reliable signs of pregnancy, many women in the excitement of conceiving conduct an early pregnancy test without waiting for this most prominent pregnancy symptom.

How does a Pregnancy Test Work

Shortly after a woman conceives, the growing placenta (tissue surrounding the growing baby) releases a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the body. But the date of implantation, i.e., the time from when the pregnancy begins, is not same as the date of conception. Conception normally takes place within 24 hours of ovulation, whereas the implantation of the fertilized egg occurs six or more days after conception. Hence, as soon as the fertilized egg implants in the uterine lining, the hCG hormone is released by the placenta, which gets detected during the home pregnancy test. The production of hCG hormone increases after every 24 hours of conception and can be detected in the woman's circulatory system and urine.

Accuracy of Pregnancy Tests before Missed Period

There are different over the counter home pregnancy tests available in the market that can help earliest detection of pregnancy. Some tests expect the user to keep the stick in the urine stream while others require collecting the urine in a cup and then dipping the stick in to it. Another technique is to put a few drops of urine on to the stick with a dropper and wait for some time till it shows the results. Whichever method you employ, most of the home pregnancy tests are considered to be 99% accurate, if conducted on the day you miss your period. Hence, conducting a home pregnancy test before missed period makes difficult to detect the hCG hormone in the body and may show a negative result, despite you being pregnant.

Basically, the concentration of hCG levels is calculated in milli-International Units (mIU) or amounts equal to 1/1000th of an IU per milliliter. After conception, the concentration of hCG hormone increases every day and should be approximately 25 mIU at 10 dpo (days past ovulation), 50 mIU at 12 dpo, and 100 mIU at 15 dpo. For a positive pregnancy test, the hormone concentration should be somewhere between 5 to 10 mIU and so the test should be conducted after 6 - 8 days of conception. However, there are certain ways that can optimize the chances of early pregnancy detection, like testing your urine first thing in the morning may boost the accuracy as the hCG hormone concentration is maximum in the morning. Also avoid urinating a few hours before the using the pregnancy test as frequent urination can reduce the hormone concentration in the urine and can interrupt in early pregnancy detection.

To sum up, we can say that the chances of positive pregnancy tests before missed period are quite mild and weak. Hence, it is advisable to conduct the early pregnancy tests on the first day of your missed period or a week or so after conception so that the hCG hormone rise up to significant level and you get accurate results.