Function
An Early Pregnancy Test (EPT) is used to detect a woman's pregnancy as early as seven days after ovulation or one week before the missed period. This home pregnancy test measures the levels of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) in the woman's urine. The hormone is secreted by the placenta after a fertilized egg is implanted in the uterine lining. The hCG reading can be affected by antibiotics, birth control pills, pain killers and alcohol. Taking an early pregnancy test shortly after giving birth or having a miscarriage may also yield incorrect results. If you suspect that any of these factors may be affecting your test results, consult your doctor.
Levels of hCG
The lowest amount of hCG that can be detected by an early pregnancy test is 20 mIU (International Units). This level should occur around seven days after ovulation. By 10 days after ovulation the hCG level will reach 25 mIU. Just two days later, the level will jump to 50 mIU and two weeks after ovulation, the hCG level will be around 100 mIU. Though early pregnancy tests are fairly reliable, a test taken too early may return a negative result because the hCG levels are not yet high enough. If this is the case, repeating the test just a few days later can return different results. Keep in mind that hCG levels will be highest in the morning, so testing with the first urine of the day will give the most reliable results.
Using an EPT Test
There are two standard ways to take an early pregnancy test. The first is with test strips. These must be soaked in a cup of urine to test for hCG. The second, more common type of early pregnancy test, is a midstream test. This is a small stick with a cap on one end. The user must remove the cap, then hold the test strip in the stream of urine. A few minutes later, the test should return a colored line, plus or minus symbol, or word depending on the specific brand of early pregnancy test. Always follow the directions that come with the early pregnancy test to ensure that you get the most accurate results.
Tags: early pregnancy, pregnancy test, after ovulation, early pregnancy test, days after