Pregnancy Testing Clinic Q&A

While you may be eager to take a pregnancy test immediately when you think you are showing signs or are close to your period, in reality, you should wait to take any pregnancy test until one week after you have missed your period, this will yield the most accurate result.

However, if you cannot wait and intend to take a pregnancy test earlier than before you missed it, the earliest you can take it is one to two weeks after you’ve had sex. This way, if you are pregnant, the body has had a bit of time to develop any detectable levels of HCG. On average, the body can take anywhere from 7 to 12 days after successful implantation of an egg for results to show. Until then, you may continue to receive inaccurate pregnancy test results.

A few signs that you should take a pregnancy test include:

1. You have missed your period

While many women have a 28-day cycle, some may have longer cycles. It is best to track and understand how long your cycle is to ensure you know if you have missed your period or not. If you are more than a month late, consider taking a pregnancy test.

2. You are starting to feel cramping

Implantation will produce a similar cramping sensation to which you would feel when you are having menstrual cramps.

3. Your breasts begin to hurt

During pregnancy, your body will create more estrogen and progesterone, these changes, while supporting the baby to grow, will make your breasts feel tender and appear larger due to increased blood flow.

4. You are starting to feel different

While you may already be feeling the cramping, and tender breasts, other symptoms include:

• Nausea
• Food aversions
• Exhaustion
• Frequent urination

5. The contraceptive you took didn’t work

Contraceptive methods like condoms, birth control, and other methods are not 100% effective. There is always a slight chance of pregnancy no matter how careful you may be.

Finally, when in doubt, it is always wise to test with a pregnancy test.

Pregnancy tests are a device that looks for a special hormone created by the body that alarms for pregnancy. It is known as HCG in short, but medically known as human chorionic gonadotropin, which only develops in women who are pregnant. Often these at-home tests use urine, as they are inexpensive and easy to use when used correctly, and provide accurate results if taken at the right time.

However, there are two types of pregnancy tests you can choose from to ensure you are pregnant, there is the urine pregnancy test which we touched on previously, this at be completed at home, or at your doctor’s office to confirm a pregnancy, then there is a blood test which will also confirm pregnancy, but this specific test will need to be completed by your doctor’s office.

Any at-home pregnancy test is considered the best pregnancy test, as they basically all work in the same manner, what it truly comes down to is your personal preference. What does matter, and what should be noted is:

• Ensure the pregnancy test has not expired
• Wait until you have missed your period (by at least a few days up to a week) before you test, as you do not want to test too early
• Follow the instructions on the pamphlet provided
• Call your doctor if you have received a positive test result from a pregnancy test, or if you have not had a period within a month, and other symptoms have been showing.

The main key difference when it comes to choosing a pregnancy test will have cost. You can find great pregnancy tests which are relatively cheap from dollar stores, and you can find pregnancy tests that are great and even estimate the number of weeks you are if you are pregnant at pharmacies or convenience stores. Then you have your doctor’s office which will provide the pregnancy test, and move forward on your options once you have a confirmed pregnancy test or not, depending on what you would like to work towards.

Reddy Urgent Care provides accurate, reliable, and fast pregnancy tests to patients who think they may be pregnant, or are showing signs and symptoms, as well as having missed a month of their period.

You can also find information on our website regarding the different types of services we offer. We serve patients from Downtown Long Beach CA, Bixby Knolls Long Beach CA, Paramount CA, East Side CA, and Los Altos CA.