A common question among women is: How early can you take a pregnancy test? To learn how early can you take a pregnancy test, you must be familiar with your menstrual cycle, and more importantly your ovulation period.
Pregnancy tests test for a hormone called hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin. This hormone is released after your egg is fertilized and is implanted in the uterus which can take up to 12 days after fertilization to be implanted. When this happens, hCG is released by the embryo and in a few days makes its way into your urine. But how long does this process take?
Well, hCG can show up in the urine as soon as 8 days past ovulation and up to 16 days past ovulation on AVERAGE. When I say “on average”, this means that on average, 8 to 16 days past ovulation is a good time to test to see if you are pregnant, however, how many menstrual cycles do you know are “average”? Not many.
If you have a later ovulation period that starts on day, let’s say 19, of your cycle, your testing window is actually SMALLER and you will have to test closer to the date of your expected period. Later ovulation could mean that the only way to get a proper reading is by taking a pregnancy test the day of or after your missed period so that enough hCG is present in your urine to have a proper result. If you have an earlier ovulation, you actually are a little luckier and have a larger window to test.
Well I hope this information can help you in your decision on How early can you take a pregnancy test. Remember many women take more than one test to determine if they are in fact pregnant or not, and the only way to be 100% sure you are pregnant is to see your doctor! Also, if you have any questions about your ovulation period and your window to test hCG levels, your doctor can help you pinpoint the times.