How does a pregnancy test work?

by Alberta Dowse

A baby will change a woman's life forever, so that's why - when it comes to finding out if they're pregnant, they'll do anything just to learn for sure. Gone are the days when a missed period was the only source of information. Nowadays, pregnancy tests are the answer, and it's easy to understand why: they're reliable and they'll give you the answer within 5 minutes. Who wouldn't like that?

Pregnancy tests are of two kinds - blood tests(taken in clinics with specialized personnel) and urine tests(which can be used at home in intimacy). They work by the same principle, which is detecting the hCG(human chorionic gonadotropin) hormone - its presence indicates pregnancy, since it's produced by the placenta after a fertilized egg penetrates the uterine wall - it appears approximately six days after fertilization.

The two test types differ in their approach to detecting the hormone: some deal with blood(and are performed in clinics) and some use urine as their sample (and are performed in the comfort of your own home). The only advantage the clinic test has over the home one is that it's faster(it can detect a pregnancy a little earlier since the hormone is present in blood before being present in the urine). Except for that, all points go to the home test, as it has many advantages: much more intimacy, much better price, very close results(some even have a 99% accuracy). Some of them can be used by almost anyone, since those digital ones even tell you on a small display: "pregnant" or "not pregnant"

Pregnancy tests are an excellent modern discovery that help women all around the world find out the truth without relying on "old fashioned" signs. The working principle is pretty simple and yet very accurate - so enjoy the benefits!