The Truth About Early Pregnancy Tests
You've missed your period and you think you may be pregnant.You've been trying for so long and you really would like toknow! What should you do now? Well, in the early days, there wasa trip to the doctor and the rabbit test. Unfortunately, ...
...if youwere expecting all the rabbit could expect or hope for was aquick death. Today there is something better! In the early1970's the home pregnancy test came to be. By detecting levelsof human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the urine we are nowable to quickly and effectively find out if we are expecting, inour own home without endangering any wildlife. But, how reliableare these tests? Don't be misled by manufacturers claiming 99%accuracy within the first day or two of a missed period. Newresearch suggests that the majority of home pregnancy tests arenot able to detect the small amounts of hCG passed in the urinethis soon. "If it's really essential to you to know whetheryou're pregnant as early as possible, then you must use asuper-sensitive test." It was noted that among 18 productstested, only one - First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test -appeared to be sensitive enough to detect pregnancy in at least95 percent of women on the first day of their missed periods. "Only 3 of the 18 products tested produced a positive resultwhen testing urine that contained the amount of hCG typicallypresent during the second day after a woman's first missedperiod. By the third day, 8 products tested appeared effective.It should be noted that all home pregnancy tests become moreaccurate after at least one week of a missed period".CONGRATULATIONS! ************************Source: Scienceblog, Reuters Health (c) 2004 Karen Zastudil
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