|
Q.
|
How soon after having sex will the pregnancy test show I'm pregnant? Please tell me how do they work?
|
|
A.
|
When a woman becomes pregnant, her body starts making a hormone called Human Chorionic Gondaotropin (HCG). HCG can be detected in blood or urine. Blood tests are more sensitive but require testing in a lab and a visit to your doctor or a clinic. Home pregnancy tests can be purchased over the counter (OTC) from a pharmacy or drug store. Home pregnancy tests measure the amount of HCG in a woman's urine (pee) and may be able to predict pregnancy as early as 4 days before your period is due. However, it is usually best to wait until your period is due before using the test. If a test is done too early, there may not be enough of the HCG hormone present to give an accurate result and the results may indicate a false negative (that is a negative reading even though there might be a pregnancy).
|
|
|
