As women, the only time we genuinely look at a calendar is to count the number of days for the impending menses. Everything else can be a fluke in our lives, but this is the one meticulous visitor to knock on our doors religiously. We are not a fan of it when they arrive and wait for them to leave, but when they don’t arrive, we are irritated and worried. Especially when we are sexually active, a delayed menses means rushing to the pharmacy to get some pregnancy tests. Let us talk about these tests today: how they work, how accurate they are, and more.
How does it work?
As for how the tests work, most of us are already familiar with the idea behind them. The pregnancy stick is basically a pee stick that lets us know our uterine occupancy by analyzing the urine. When pregnant, the ovum is fertilized by a sperm, and the fertilized egg is growing into an embryo. There will be an influx of hormones especially HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). Wondering what HCG does? It is usually accumulated in a woman’s body in the stages of her pregnancy, it signals the ovaries to not undergo its regimen menstrual cycle after it is done sending its signal, they get excreted out of the body via urine. This is exactly the hormone the pee stick detects and informs us of our status.
How soon does it work?
One burning question with regards to these pregnancy tests is how soon can they be used. If you have an intuition that you might be pregnant for a variety of reasons you can definitely go ahead and take the test, but the first day of the missed period is a good place to start, you can also try the same 4 to 5 days before your period is due. This is for the ones whose periods are fairly regular, if you have irregular periods then it would be wise to wait for 3 weeks from the time you think that you might have conceived. Once again, it would be best to get an official test done after the home pregnancy tests too. Better sure, than sorry.
How do you read the test?
Usually, the tests indicate you are pregnant or otherwise with the help of a plus or minus sign, one or two indicator lines, the words “pregnant” or “not pregnant” will appear on the screen. These tests, done correctly are 99% accurate and that is a really good percentage to work with. Irrespective of the accuracy it is always better to get the official medical test done or an early pregnancy scan before any further indulgence. The idea that you can be in the privacy of your own bathrooms and figure out the answer to this major question is really beautiful. It allows us the chance to be open about our emotions, ponder on our thoughts and above all be our most comfortable selves.
With the evolution of modern science, a lot of things have changed, this is one such evolutionary change that helps women tremendously. In the comforts of your home, in the boundary of your overthinking brain, in the realms of the uncertain heart, we get to know our truth even without the help of external help.
