How early would a pregnancy test work?

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-29-2004
How early would a pregnancy test work?
3
Tue, 07-13-2004 - 10:41am
How soon after the day you had sex would a pregnancy test work?
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 07-13-2004 - 11:54am
Every body's different--it depends on when you were ovulating....When we conceived our first child I took a test 14 days after ovulation (we had sex that day)...and I got an accurate reading....
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-06-2003
Tue, 07-13-2004 - 12:39pm
Pregnancy tests usually aren't based on the day you had sex, but on the number of days your period is late. Some advertise that they can detect pregnancy on the first day of a missed period, but it's not likely. There are other independent studies out there (but please don't make me hunt down the links, I'm having a tough morning) that show that the accuracy rates are *much* lower than they advertise.

If you've used your bc properly, the insert sheets that come with them don't advise you to worry any until you've missed your second period. It's nerve-wracking, but unless you like spending lots of money on pregnancy tests that may or may not be right, you're better off waiting until your period is *at least* a week late, IMO, and *then* getting one that advertises early detection.

***

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 07-14-2004 - 7:59am
And to complete the thought loop... Ovulation usually precedes a period by about two weeks. So if you had sex the day you ovulated, if you didn't get pregnant, you'd expect your period about two weeks later give or take a few days. If you did get pregnant, it takes about two weeks following ovulation for the hormones to be strong enough in your urine to be detected by a home pregnancy test (and most of the doctors' tests). So once you've missed a period, you'd be about two weeks past ovulation or so, which is when it's recommended to test, but longer is better as that would obviously allow higher levels of HCG in the urine (the body produces larger and larger amounts as a pregnancy progresses). If you have sex any time when you're not fertile (within a few days either side of ovulation), you can't get pregnant, that's what the natural family planning methods are based on. The hard part is identifying when you ovulate. ;) And you can't do it by counting days on a calendar unless you're an exception to the rule.

Long story short: Wait until you either get or miss your period!

Hope it works out!

Judie
Co-cl for Birth Control
Judie Cl for Birth Control