Pregnancy test: when and how to do it

It - En

Do you feel like you're pregnant this month? It 's still too early to take a test bought at the pharmacy and you can not wait for the fateful day of delay?
Stay calm, relax and enjoy the wait; when you read the test result you will be overwhelmed by a whirlwind of emotions!
My advice is to buy the test immediately, keep it at home and wait ...

The pregnancy test is a test that measures the hormone Beta HCG, or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. It is the hormone secreted by some cells of the future placenta as soon as the embryo is installed in the uterine wall, immediately after conception. This hormone, absent in the unfertilized woman, is traceable about eight days after fertilization. It allows to preserve ovarian secretions that prevent the arrival of menstruation and are therefore necessary for the fertilized egg to cling to the walls of the uterus.

To perform the test it is necessary to wait a few days of delay of the menstrual cycle; even if some symptoms of pregnancy such as tiredness, nausea, swelling, may already be present, often they are imputable to a normal premenstrual syndrome.

There are several types of pregnancy tests more or less reliable, we see the most common:

- Blood analysis: this test is 100% reliable; not only by a certain answer on the positivity or not of the state of pregnancy, but also allows to evaluate if the pregnancy could be twinned or not. It measures the exact amount of Beta HCG hormone present in the blood, allowing an estimate on the date of conception;
- Salivary test: measures the levels of Beta HCG hormone present in saliva, is very practical and reliable at 98%, but in Italy it is still not widespread;
-Test of the urine: it is the most used one, it is bought in pharmacy and allows to detect the presence of the Beta HCG hormone in the urine; it is 99% reliable.

What is the best time to take the test? Surely fertilization after 10 days.
In fact, after 10 days the level of Beta HCG is high enough to be detected by a normal pregnancy test bought at the pharmacy.
If you have a menstrual delay, the best time to take a test is at least three days after the date of the alleged cycle. If the test proves to be negative and the cycle delay continues, postpone it after a week. The test should be performed on the tablet because the urine is more concentrated and the level of Beta HCG is maximum. If you know you have to take a pregnancy test, avoid drinking too much, because the hormone indicative of pregnancy would be too diluted, distorting the result.