When is the best day to take a pregnancy test

Although you might be eager to take a pregnancy test as soon as possible, it’s best to wait until your period is a week late to get the most accurate result. If you can’t wait until your period, let at least one to two weeks pass after you have sex before taking a pregnancy test. 

It’s important to wait, because your body needs to develop enough of the pregnancy hormone hCG that a pregnancy test can detect it. In most cases, home pregnancy tests can detect levels of hCG around 10 days after successful implantation of an egg (which doesn’t happen immediately after sex). If you take the test too early, you might get a negative result (even if you are pregnant). 

If you want to know how early you can take a pregnancy test, you might also wonder when the best time to take a pregnancy test is. Is it best to take it in the morning or at night? To get an accurate result, most experts recommend taking a pregnancy test in the morning. Why? While you’re sleeping, hCG becomes more concentrated in your urine. Unless you wake up in the middle of the night to pee, first thing in the morning is the best time for early detection of pregnancy. 

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When is the best day to take a pregnancy test

When is the best day to take a pregnancy test

When is the best day to take a pregnancy test

This doesn’t mean you can’t take a pregnancy test later in the day. It just means that you’re more likely to get a false-negative, especially if you’ve been drinking a lot of water. It’s easy to forget in the morning, so it might be helpful to leave yourself a note the night before. You can close the lid of the toilet and leave a note there to remind yourself. 

What if you have an unconventional sleep schedule and can’t test your urine first thing in the morning? You can increase the level of hCG in your urine by not using the bathroom for at least four hours. 

Before taking a pregnancy test, don’t drink more water than you normally would. Drinking a lot of water can dilute your urine and affect the result of your test. 

If you got a negative result but still think you might be pregnant, take the test again after several days. False positives and false negatives are rare, but they do happen. Repeating a test can also be a good idea.

When is the best day to take a pregnancy test

Taking a pregnancy test sooner than eight days past your ovulation (DPO) might result in a false negative. This is because fertilized eggs don’t start producing the pregnancy hormone that tests detect — hCG — until after implantation is complete.

About 85 percent of the time, implantation occurs 6–10 days after ovulation. After implantation, your hCG levels will start doubling every 48 hours. At this point, pregnancy tests will be able to measure your hCG levels, ensuring a positive result if you’re pregnant. 

Maybe you’ve taken a home pregnancy test, but now your health care provider is suggesting you take a blood test. What exactly is and when should you take a blood pregnancy test? 

Home pregnancy tests measure the levels of hCG in your urine. A blood pregnancy test measures the hCG levels in your blood. Health care providers suggest taking a blood test because they’re more sensitive and can offer more information than a home urine test. 

The best time to take a blood pregnancy test is if your period is several days late. If your home pregnancy tests are negative, but you’re experiencing all the symptoms of pregnancy, it’s a good idea to take a blood test. 

The most accurate blood tests are quantitative blood pregnancy tests, because they determine the exact amount of hCG in your blood. This is important because it can tell your health care provider if you’re pregnant or if you need to do another test in a few days.

Health care providers also recommend blood tests if you’ve experienced an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage in the past. This ensures your health care provider will be able to observe your hCG levels more closely in the first weeks of your pregnancy. 

You might wonder when to take a pregnancy test to get accurate results. Whether you’re hoping for a positive or a negative, taking a test the week after your missed period is probably the best way to find out. If you’re in a hurry, you can try taking a test at least one to two weeks after sex, but the results may not be as accurate. 

For best results, take the pregnancy test in the morning. First-morning urine exhibits the highest concentration of hCG. Taking your pregnancy test sooner than eight days past ovulation might result in a false negative. Blood tests are more sensitive and can offer more information than a home urine test.

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If you're experiencing early signs of pregnancy like fatigue, sore breasts, nausea, or a period you could have sworn should have arrived by now, the most pressing question is when you can know for sure that you're actually pregnant. The best time to take a pregnancy test is after you’ve missed your period or, to put it another way, when you know yours is late.

It can be difficult to know exactly when that is if you have irregular periods, you don't chart your cycles, or you’re not actively trying to conceive. 

So, how soon can you pee on a stick and get an accurate result? Here’s how to figure out when to take a pregnancy test, the best time of day to do it, and what to do next.

Pregnancy tests measure levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone in your urine or blood. This hormone is released by your body when a fertilized egg attaches to the wall of your uterus (womb). After you become pregnant, your hCG levels rise slowly at first and then very rapidly, doubling every couple of days.

But if you take a pregnancy test too early (before you’ve missed your period), your body may not yet have detectable levels of hCG for a positive result (“pregnant”). As such, you could risk getting a false negative result (“not pregnant”) and have to take another test later on.

You could also get a positive result if you end up having a chemical pregnancy or early miscarriage or have an underlying health condition that could be responsible for the presence of hCG.

Most people start by self-testing for pregnancy. You can buy an over-the-counter pregnancy test kit at most pharmacies and grocery stores. You can also sometimes pick one up for free or at a reduced cost from a local health center such as Planned Parenthood. 

While you can visit your healthcare professional for a pregnancy test, they’ll most likely use a standard urine test as well unless your health history indicates any potential complications.

In that case, they may send you to the lab to draw a pregnancy blood test, too. Just how long it might take to get those results will depend on the lab your healthcare professional is working with.

Some manufacturers produce home pregnancy tests that they claim can detect a pregnancy as soon as one day after your missed period or even before then. But remember: The earlier you take a test, the more at risk you are of getting a false negative result due to still-too-low hCG levels.

While you could give an early pregnancy test a try, research suggests that most over-the-counter tests aren’t sensitive enough to detect hCG before or on the first day of your missed period, per a 2014 study.

What's more, about 10 to 20 out of 100 people don’t get a positive test result on the day they believe is just after their missed period—even when they are in fact pregnant, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

To avoid a false negative or positive result and the roller coaster of emotions that could follow, wait to test until a couple of days after your missed period or, even better, until a full week has passed. By then, the chances of getting a false negative result are very low.

If you take the test a day or so after your missed period and get a positive result, it’s likely correct. If you get a negative result, keep in mind that you could still possibly be pregnant. You might want to retest one week after your missed period to be sure.

If you haven’t been tracking your cycles or have an irregular period, know that hCG levels typically become detectable within two weeks of conception. As such, wait about 14 days after you had sex to take a test.

If you take two pregnancy tests and both are negative but you still believe you may be pregnant, contact your healthcare professional.

The wait to take a pregnancy test can be excruciating. But some good news is that the moment you hit the right time in your cycle, you can take it the first thing that morning. In fact, that’s preferable. 

You want to take a pregnancy test just after you wake up and when you haven't used the restroom in a while. This is when your urine is the most concentrated, with the highest hCG levels. If you are a shift worker, take the test after you wake up to begin your day, or when you haven’t peed in a handful of hours. 

The wait to take a pregnancy test can make for some of the most anxiety-inducing hours and days. It’s completely understandable if you want to take a test as soon as possible. But to make the most of it, waiting a little longer may make sense.

The best time to take a pregnancy test is a few days after your missed period (or at least two weeks after having sex) and when you haven’t peed in many hours.

If you’re not quite there yet, keep in mind that your test results may not be entirely accurate. If you’re comfortable with that, it’s OK to take an early pregnancy test and follow up with an additional test in a week or so. 

For your peace of mind, make sure you’re emotionally prepared to navigate a potential positive or negative result. Have a trusted family member, friend, or healthcare professional nearby. If you have any questions about your results or discover you are indeed pregnant, reach out to a doctor as soon as possible to determine which next steps are right for you.