Have you ever a received a positive pregnancy test result and then found out you weren’t pregnant or received a negative test and then you were pregnant?
Can a pregnancy test be wrong?
It sure can!
Here are 5 reasons how that could happen.
- Expired or Faulty Test: Always check the expiration date before use. An expired or defective test may not work properly.
- Certain Medications: Some fertility medications or other specific drugs such as anti-anxiety or antipsychotic medications contain hCG that can interfere with test results.
- User Error:
(A) Purchasing an expired test can cause a wrong reading.
(B) Drinking water or other fluids before taking the test can weaken the affect a pregnancy test. The hormone hCG is more concentrated in your urine first thing in the morning. If you haven’t missed your period yet, your hCG level may not be high enough to be detected in more diluted urine. However, you can test any time of day if you’ve already missed your period; if you are pregnant, your hCG level will be high enough to give a positive result at any time of day. If you haven’t missed your period, you took a home pregnancy test and it was negative, and you drank an excessive amount of fluids before you took the test — consider taking another test the following day using your first urine of the day.
(C) Removing the dipstick from the urine outside of the recommended time frame can give you an inaccurate reading.
- Early Pregnancy or Chemical Pregnancy: This is the most common cause of a positive test followed by a period a few days to a week later than expected. The egg was fertilized and briefly implanted, producing hCG, but the pregnancy did not progress.
- Testing too Early: The test detects hCG, a hormone that increases rapidly in early pregnancy. If you test before there is enough hCG in your system, the test may come back negative, even if you are pregnant. For the most accurate result, it is best to wait after the first day of your missed period.
If you’re uncertain, no worries, we would love for you to come to Care Net PRC of Neosho where you can get a free and confidential pregnancy test and ultrasound.
Call us at 417-455-0100 to schedule an appointment.