“Could I be pregnant?” Many women are asking themselves right this minute. Some of them have been trying to conceive and are hoping that this will be their lucky month, while others don't want to be pregnant and are dreading the day they might miss their period.
Women from both categories will be on the lookout for signs and symptoms, and may be wondering how to interpret sensations they notice. In this article, we tackle pregnancy tests, ambiguous early pregnancy signs, and other common questions women who think they could be pregnant have.
READ Missed Period and Negative Pregnancy Test- Could I Still be Pregnant?
What You Should Know About Pregnancy Tests
Human Chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone produced by a component of the fertilized egg. This same component will turn into the placenta later on in pregnancy, but during the very early stages after conception, it can simply provide you with some useful information — hCG is, after all, the hormone expelled in urine that home pregnancy tests react to.[1]
Your body will start to secrete hCG as soon as one week following conception, and the more sensitive home pregnancy tests will already achieve a positive result at that time.
There are two common types of hCG tests.
- A qualitative hCG test detects if hCG is present in the blood.
- A quantitative hCG test (or beta hCG) measures the amount of hCG actually present in the blood.
For the most accurate results possible, it is still best to wait at least 10 days after the unprotected sex before you take a pregnancy test, or you could wait until the day you are expecting your period and take the test when it turns out that you are not menstruating. Levels can first be detected by a blood test about 11 days after conception and about 12-14 days after conception by a urine test. [1]
A home pregnancy test is the easiest and quickest way to determine if you are pregnant. These tests are available inexpensively on the internet or at dollar stores, but those bought at a pharmacy tend to cost between $8 and $20. This is a small price to pay for the privilege of quick and accurate information. If you were to have a blood test taken, you'd have to make an appointment and wait for the results.
Though most pregnancy tests will now give accurate results at any time of the day, it is still best to use your first morning urine, as this will contain the highest concentration of hCG if it is present. Never drink a large amount of water just so you can go to the bathroom and take a test, because diluting your urine in this way can actually lead to a false negative result.
Are These Pregnancy Symptoms?
Some women take their pregnancy test too early and get a negative result even though they are pregnant. If you miss a period, you should simply take another pregnancy test and follow the instructions closely, especially if you are also having pregnancy symptoms.
Some women will notice a very light spotting — often brownish in color — around this time. This is called implantation bleeding, and though light spotting is never definitive proof of a pregnancy, it can be taken as an indication that it is time to take a pregnancy test.[2]
Think You Could Be Pregnant But Don't Want To Be?
Many girls and women who don't want to get pregnant right now but briefly had unprotected sex wonder if pre-ejeculatory fluid contains sperm, and can thus lead to pregnancy. The answer is that this fluid, also known colloquially as “precum”, does not usually carry any sperm cells. If a man already ejaculated shortly before having sex, it is however possible that some sperm cells will still be in his urethra and that those will be expelled along with the pre-ejaculate. This is one reason why the withdrawal method does not serve as a reliable birth control.[3]
Are you worried that you might be pregnant after “dry humping” and kissing, with your clothes on, you can stop fretting. Sperm just doesn't get through clothes. In order to get pregnant without sexual intercourse, artificial reproductive techniques are required.[4]
New birth control pill users often wonder if they used their new contraceptive wrongly and get frightened that they could be pregnant. The pill usually becomes effective after seven days of taking it, but is effective immediately if first taken on the day a woman's menstrual bleeding begins. To decrease the chance that your pill will fail, make sure to follow the instructions precisely and to take your pill at the exact same time every day. The beginning of efficiency also depends on whether you’re taking combination pills or progestin-only pills. [5]
Accidents happen, and women who have had unplanned unprotected sex or experienced contraceptive failure (or just realized they forgot to take a few birth control pills) can turn to emergency contraceptives.[6]
Many women will be pleased to know that the morning-after pill does not actually cause abortions. Once the implantation process has commenced, the morning-after pill is not effective and does not end a pregnancy. On the flip side, this also means that some women still get pregnant after using the morning-after pill. The morning-after pill reduced the chances of pregnancy by 89 percent.
It is worth noting that the copper IUD is a powerful emergency contraceptive. Not many women know about this, but Paragard is the most effective emergency contraceptive available in the US. It interferes with cervical mucus in such a way that sperm are disabled or killed, and it can also prevent implantation if fertilization has already occurred. The Paragard is an emergency contraceptive and a long-term method of birth control all in one.[7]
Birth control pill and other types of contraceptives will not protect you from a sexually transmitted disease.
Sources & Links
- Photo courtesy of Ernesto Andrade by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/dongkwan/5064149056/
- Photo courtesy of Jeff Howard by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/jeffhoward/7210040008/