My group chat is having a debate about pregnancy tests. Some of us took several pregnancy tests after we got our initial positive result, but a couple friends took one test and kept it moving. Does it matter how many tests you take before the first prenatal visit? Are the rest of us crazy for testing multiple times?
—Inviting you to the group chat
I love a good group chat, so thank you for the invite!
No one is crazy here, but let’s go a little deeper. Pregnancy tests work by detecting the hormone hCG. This hormone is produced starting when a pregnancy implants in the uterus, typically 6 to 10 days after fertilization. Once implantation occurs, hCG levels rapidly increase, from 0 to as high as 200,000 IU/L (international units per liter) by 12 weeks of pregnancy. They then slowly decrease from there.
There is a huge range in hCG values across individuals, based on demographics and characteristics of the pregnancy. This is why some people get positive tests very early and some do not.
Very early in pregnancy — before or right around your missed period — hCG levels may be so low that a pregnancy test gives a false negative. Or they may be high enough to get a very faint second line. As the pregnancy progresses through the first couple of weeks, that line will get darker.
That’s the background. Now, to your question: Is there any reason to take multiple tests? Not really, no. If you get a positive test, that’s a pregnancy. However, if the line is very faint and you’re very early in pregnancy, later tests can give you some clue that the pregnancy is progressing. I will caution that continuing to take tests after five weeks or so of pregnancy is unlikely to be informative, since by then hCG levels are high enough that you wouldn’t expect the test to continue to get darker.
The main downside of more pregnancy tests is money! Some of them are not cheap. If you’ve got leftovers, maybe donate to the rest of the group chat.
Community Guidelines
Log in