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When a pregnancy test is positive, the woman may be in doubt about the outcome and what to do. Therefore, it is important to know how to interpret the test well and, if so, make an appointment with the doctor to clarify all doubts and prepare for pregnancy.
The pregnancy test allows a woman to know if she is pregnant by detecting a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), whose levels increase as the pregnancy develops.
The test can be done at home or in the laboratory and can be performed from the first day of menstruation failure. Those that are made at home can be purchased at a pharmacy and detect the hormone in the urine, while the test done in the laboratory, detects the hormone in the blood.
Types of pregnancy test
Pregnancy tests, whether in the pharmacy or performed in the laboratory, all work the same way, by detecting the hormone hCG in urine and blood, respectively. This hormone is initially produced by the fertilized egg and, later, by the placenta, increasing progressively over the first few weeks of pregnancy.
1. Pharmacy test
Pharmacy pregnancy tests detect the hormone hCG in the urine from the first expected day of menstruation. These tests are easy to use and interpret, and digital versions are also available to let you know how many weeks the woman is pregnant.
2. Blood test
The blood test is the most reliable test to confirm pregnancy, which allows you to detect small amounts of the hormone hCG, which is produced during pregnancy. This test can be performed before the delay, but there is a chance that it will be a false-negative result, so it is recommended that it only be done 10 days after fertilization, or on the first day after the menstrual delay.
Learn more about this exam and how to understand the result.
How to know if it was positive
Generally, women have more doubts about interpreting the tests bought at the pharmacy, because those that are done in the laboratory, indicate the positive or negative result, in addition to also indicating the amount of beta hCG in the blood, which, if the woman is pregnant, is greater than 5 mlU / ml.
The pharmacy test is a quick exam that gives the result in a few minutes. However, in some cases, erroneous results can be obtained, especially if the test is done too early, due to the difficulty in identifying the hormone, or the incorrect test performance.
To interpret the test, simply compare the streaks that appear on the display. If only a streak appears, it means that the test was negative or that it is too early to detect the hormone. If two streaks appear, it means that the test has given a positive result, and that the woman is pregnant. It is important to know that, after 10 minutes, the result can change, so the result, after this time, is not considered.
In addition to this, there are also digital tests, which show on the display whether the woman is pregnant or not, and some of them already make a quantitative assessment of the hormone, allowing to know how many weeks the woman is pregnant.
If the woman is trying to conceive or already has symptoms, and the result is negative, she can wait another 3 to 5 days and have another test to confirm that the first one was not a false negative. Know the reasons that can cause a false negative.
What to do if the test is positive
If the test gives a positive result, the woman should schedule an appointment with her doctor, to clarify any doubts about the pregnancy and to know what prenatal care should be given, so that the baby develops in a healthy way.
Created by: Tua Saúde Editorial Team
