pregnancy test
Health Tips

When Should You Take The Pregnancy Test?

Detecting the pregnancy early can be quite tricky, as everyone experiences a different set of symptoms, and sometimes the symptoms of other health conditions also appear like the pregnancy signs. That’s why many women often get confused that should they take the pregnancy test or not.

Most doctors recommend that you should wait till the time you have missed your periods before you take any pregnancy test. But, the symptoms of pregnancy can be noticed way before your missed your periods, and there is a few best early pregnancy test before the missed periodthat can be taken to find out whether you are pregnant or not.

Early Pregnancy Symptoms

The sexually active women, during their reproductive years, always have a chance of pregnancy every month, even when you are using protection.

Condoms, birth control pills, and other contraceptives may provide significant protection against pregnancy, but none of them guarantees 100% protection against pregnancy.

You can only get pregnant after a few days of your last periods, so, from the 10th or 11th day of your monthly cycle, there is a chance of getting pregnant.

When you get pregnant, you may not know until you miss your periods, but there are some early signs which your body keeps on sending to you. With these signals, your body tries to prompt you to take the pregnancy test.

Here are the top symptoms you may experience during the early days of pregnancy:

1. Nausea

Nausea, with or without vomiting is one of the most common symptoms that pregnant women experience, and it is at its peak in the morning time. During mornings, the concentration of the hormones is the highest, and that’s why most women experience morning sickness during pregnancy. During the early days of pregnancy, you may not feel the urge to vomit but nausea may be experienced.

2. Spotting

After about 5 – 10 days of conception, some women notice a brownish discharge or spotting, which occurs when the embryo gets implanted in the uterus. This spotting may last for one or two days.

3. Discomfort in Breasts

Tingling or soreness in the breasts is also one of the very common symptoms and early pregnancy signs. During the early days of pregnancy, your breasts start to prepare for it, get filled out, change shape and you may experience some pain as well.

Breasts become very sensitive and tender, and this is one of the signs that help you identify that you might be carrying a little bundle of joy.

4. Sleepiness and Fatigue

Feeling tired all the time, and especially in the mornings when you are not able to wake up is a common sign one can notice very early in the pregnancy. Even if you are an early riser, you may not be able to get off the bed in the mornings and might feel tired all day long.

If you have been experiencing any unexplained fatigue, then you might be pregnant.

5. Urge to Urinate Frequently

During the beginning of pregnancy, the uterus starts pressing the bladder directly leading to very frequent urination. This added pressure and the intestinal changes may also result in constipation.

That’s why frequent urination and constipation are one of the common signs of early pregnancy.

6. Sensitivity Towards Smells

If suddenly you have started experiencing sensitivity, even towards the common smells, there are high chances that you are pregnant.

Many pregnant women experience a heightened sense of smells in the early days of their pregnancy. If you are pregnant, you may not like the smell of the soaps, garlic, egg or many other things.

Also, you would be able to smell things from a distance. This heightened sense of smell can be considered as one of the superpowers of pregnancy.

7. Missing Periods

It is among the most obvious indicators of pregnancy.

If you have missed your periods, it’s the right time to bring the home pregnancy test kit or visit a gynecologist for the blood or urine pregnancy test.

Medical Pregnancy Tests

There are two types of the medical pregnancy tests, one uses a blood sample and the other uses the urine sample. However, the prime aim of both these tests is to detect the presence of the HCG hormone (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin).

It is a hormone which is produced by the placenta soon after the embryo gets attached to the uterine lining. In the initial days of pregnancy, this hormone is produced in abundance in the body, and it is the indicator of the pregnancy.

Home Pregnancy Kits for Pregnancy Test

The home pregnancy strips also check the presence of HCG in urine, but, they can detect its presence after you miss your first period after getting pregnant. That’s when HCG production is at its peak in the body. Though there is some home pregnancy checking kits, which may show the accurate results a few days before your periods are due, but, most of them work accurately only after the due date of periods.

Even if your home pregnancy test kit is showing negative results, there are chances that you might be pregnant. It’s always a good idea to repeat the test after two or three days, or do the test with the first urine of the morning, as the concentration of the HCG hormone is highest at that time.

What to Do When You Notice These Early Pregnancy Signs?

Now, as you know how early can pregnancy symptoms start, you can start taking some precautions as soon as you experience these symptoms and find out that you may be pregnant, to give a healthy growth environment for your baby.

About 90% of the women who notice any or all of the aforementioned symptoms are pregnant, but the pregnancy can medically be established only after the blood test, urine test and an early ultrasound that detects the heartbeat of the baby.