Some people often wonder if medications can interfere with pregnancy tests especially those taken at home. Fertility drugs, in particular, such as HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) drugs may indeed interfere with pregnancy tests and may sometimes also distort the result leading to a false negative pregnancy test or a false positive test. Other drugs such as birth control pills and antibiotics do not influence or cause distortion in pregnancy tests including those taken at home. This statement is not to say that the accuracy of pregnancy tests taken at home is never in doubt. Apart from the inaccuracies that fertility drugs such as HCG may lead to, there are other reasons which may contribute to misleading results.
These misleading results are of two kinds. First is a false positive test. This result is a case when you get a positive test when taking a pregnancy test at home when you are not pregnant. That is, the result determines that you are pregnant when you are not. The reasons for these are diverse. This may happen if you did get pregnant but suffered the pregnancy loss after the fertilised egg attached itself to your uterine lining. This is also known as biochemical pregnancy and may lead people to believe they are pregnant soon after they have suffered a pregnancy loss. Another reason for a false positive pregnancy test could a result of ectopic pregnancy.
Taking a pregnancy test immediately after taking a fertility drug that contains HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) could also lead to distortion in the test results. This is because HCG or human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced by the embryo after implantation and traces of this hormone could be detected by a pregnancy test leading to a false positive test result.
Finally, menopause and problems with your ovaries could contribute to a misleading test result. Menopause, in particular, convinces many women that they are experiencing pregnancy in their late years when in fact the fertility level of the body has plummeted.
On the other hand, taking a pregnancy test at home may also lead to a false negative pregnancy test. This kind of test result is more frequent than a positive, negative test. This is the opposite of a false positive test and instead, the test deduces that you are not pregnant when you are. Again, there several reasons this could happen and it’s important to know them before you take any home pregnancy test. It is always beneficial to know what you are getting yourself into and access the possibility of inaccuracy when using a home pregnancy test kit as it is the only way you can prepare yourself for any false and misleading result and act accordingly.
A false negative test could be the result of taking the test too early. If you take a test immediately after missing your period, for example, taking the test only after a day after your delayed period, the fewer chances you have of actually detecting your pregnancy and you may instead have to face a false negative test. This is because the earlier you take the test after your missed period the harder it is for the home pregnancy to detect traces of HCG which are hormones left after the embryo is implanted. An ideal time to take the test, therefore, to ensure a better and more accurate result is to take the test at least a week after your delayed period. This test provides that HCG is easier to detect in your urine and the chances of you avoiding becoming a victim of a false negative or even a false positive test are lessened considerably. Moreover, sometimes the false negative test could result from checking the pregnancy test too soon. Often, the pregnancy test takes the time to work and display the right result. Hence, it is a good idea to invest in a timer and wait for the timer to ring after a certain amount of time has lapsed as instructed on the pregnancy test package.
Another reason for a false negative test could be a result of using the pregnancy strip on diluted urine. This is when the pregnancy test is unable to detect the traces of human chorionic gonadotropin in the urine. Instead, it is advisable to conduct the test in the morning when your urine is the most concentrated and a more reliable and accurate test result is ensured.
But how can you possibly be sure that your pregnancy test is entirely accurate? Well, the answer to that is straightforward, which is that you do not. In reality, the only way to be completely sure is to schedule an appointment with your doctor or gynaecologist and get him to conduct the tests. Only an authorised doctor can give you a perfectly accurate pregnancy test result by doing a blood test and using ultrasound. Often, this last step should not be delayed, and it is always advisable to visit your doctor or gynaecologist even after you’ve taken the home pregnancy test several times and have gotten the same result which could be a false positive test result, a false negative test result or a mixed result.
Only a trained and professional doctor can truly and officially confirm your pregnancy. It is imperative thus that if you have reason to believe that you are pregnant (this could be because of delayed period or your last sexual activity or simply because you have been trying to conceive for some time), a visit to the doctor is crucial. This visit is necessary so that one can start preparing for the baby and take the right measures for prenatal care which is a major step for a pregnant woman. Indeed, prenatal care requires the adjustment in food intake, diet, exercise and other emotional and physical life changes which all need to be taken into account as soon as possible to prepare for a baby.
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