Interesting article on PG tests

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2003
Interesting article on PG tests
1
Thu, 07-31-2003 - 9:47pm
New pregnancy test benefits doubted, Early detection gains dubious, professional says Jenny Deam Denver Post Staff Writer

Denver Post 06/11/2002

Sally Gorzelanski, a 32-year-old Littleton mother-to-be, knows all about the lure of the home pregnancy test. In the four months she and her husband tried to conceive their first child, she took plenty of them, always hoping the negative result was somehow a mistake.

Her life became divided into two-week windows of waiting and hope: The first two weeks of every month, she waited until she was fertile. Then, the next two weeks she counted the days until she could take The Test.

'At 11 bucks a piece, you can spend a small fortune on them,' she says. Gorzelanski recently found out she was pregnant and is due in January.

In the past, makers of home pregnancy tests have cautioned women not to take the tests until the day after their period is due. But now, two of the nation's most popular brands, First Response and Clear Blue Easy, have launched new products that claim women can test positive for pregnancy as early as four days before their period is due.

This has sparked some debate among doctors who question whether it is a good idea for women to test that early in their cycle.

In the first month of pregnancy a fertilized egg implants in the uterus, usually a few days after conception. Soon afterward, a hormone known as hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is produced by the placenta and released into the mother's body. A home pregnancy test detects the hCG in urine.

The trick, however, is early in a pregnancy the levels of hCG are very low, doubling every two to three days. If a woman tests too early to pick up low levels of hCG, she will get a negative result even if pregnant. That is why most doctors tell women to wait.

But many don't.

Gorzelanski heard about the new early tests and bought them because she was sure every month she was pregnant. 'Even though you're told not to expect it to happen the first month, you do,' she says, 'We were just so excited. We wanted to know.'

Dr. Machelle Seibel, the medical director for Inverness Medical, the parent company of the maker of Clear Blue Easy, says the more sensitive test was developed for just that reason.

'Every consumer survey says that is the most pressing concern. It's what women want to know more than anything else: How soon can I test?' he says.

Still, the new tests are only about 50 percent accurate if used as early as advertised, their makers say. That is why the tests come with instructions that urge women who test negative to take another test in a couple days.

The makers of First Response have said one of the benefits of testing early is for women to adjust their health habits as soon as possible, including eliminating alcohol and tobacco use.

Dr. William Schlaff, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, is skeptical of that marketing claim.

'The fact is, about half the pregnancies in this country are unintended pregnancies,' he says. If a woman was not expecting to get pregnant she probably was not vigilant the previous month. Nor, he says, did she need to be.

'It is extremely unlikely a few drinks when you are 20 seconds pregnant are going to hurt the pregnancy,' he says.

Schlaff says the tests are being geared to a specific audience - those having trouble conceiving or those who absolutely do not want a baby. And while there may be no real medical reason to test early, he acknowledges that for many women waiting even a couple extra days can be excruciating.

In the end Gorzelanski did not use an early test to detect her pregnancy.

She had become resigned to the fact it might take her awhile so she stopped watching the calendar so closely. On a business trip to New Orleans she even allowed herself a few drinks, figuring this couldn't be the month. When she returned home she realized she had missed her period.

She took a test and finally got the results she was waiting for.

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-11-2003
Fri, 08-01-2003 - 5:23am
Thank you for sharing this information!

It's good to know that the tests are being geared to a specific audience, as they are only about 50 percent accurate.

Marcia