Early Pregnancy Test

Can a negative early pregnancy test be wrong?

Question: My husband and i are TTC. my period is due on wednesday (23rd) yesterday (20th) i did a pregnancy test with one that says it can detect a pregnancy 5 days before an expected period - it was negative - is it possible that it is wrong and that it was too early or are these early tests nearly always accurate?

Answer: yes, and that's why it is not recommended to take a home urine preg test until after your missed period. this is because the home preg tests fail to pick up early levels of the pregnancy hormone hcg. you are only a few days away from the 24th (the day after your expected period). and remember, the blood tests are extremely accurate and pick up everything. wishing you and all the TTC'ers truckloads full of baby dust in 2008!!!!!

How long after fertilization can an early pregnancy test detect pregnancy?

Question: If I have sex on a Thursday and conception/ovulation happens the same day, can a home pregnancy test detect the pregnancy hormone (hcg) the following Thursday (7 days later)? If so, what is the likelihood of the test detecting hcg that early?

Answer: It depends on how early the fertilized egg begins the implantation process once it reaches the uterus, because that's when HCG levels begin to increase. Implantation, on average, begins somewhere 7-10 days after fertilization although it happens slightly earlier or later in some cases. I'd say that 7 days after actual fertilization is on the outside of what might be detectable by a home pregnancy test and chances are very, very slim that early. As in you'd be better off waiting until at least 10 days after ovulation to even think about testing and you're still very likely to get a possibly false negative. Even a blood test, which is very sensitive, generally won't detect a pregnancy until at least 10 days after ovulation and fertilization.