How is the Home Pregnancy Test Performed?

Best results are obtained if the test is performed with the early morning urine sample. This is because the urine has accumulated in the bladder overnight and subsequently has more hCG hormone in it.

To get accurate results one must carefully follow the instructions given on the home pregnancy test kit.

Performing the home pregnancy test

Collect the urine in a clean urine collection cup.

Keep the testing device on a flat surface and use a dropper to put 1-2 drops of urine into the well of the testing device.

Wait for few minutes (as per the instructions in the overleaf) to interpret the test results.

(The procedure of conducting the test may differ from one brand of pregnancy kit to another. Some test strips can be held directly in the urine stream and do not require you to collect urine in a container.)

Interpretation of the home pregnancy test results

Read the results within the stipulated time. Reading it too early or late can give inaccurate results.

The pregnancy kit is marked with two regions - ‘C’ and ‘T’.‘T’ denotes test sample and ‘C’ indicates a control. No matter what the results of the pregnancy tests, ‘C’ is always visible on the comparison band of the kit and indicates if the test has been performed correctly.

Interpretation of the Home Pregnancy Test Results

If a colored band appears in the ‘C’ as well as the‘T’ region then the test is positive. The test is negative if no band appears in the ‘T’ region. If the level of hCG hormones in the urine is low, then no band will appear and if it does it will be very faint. In such cases it is recommended that the test be repeated again after 72 hours.(3^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Pregnancy Tests - Overview

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Published on Sep 26, 2014
Last Updated on Jan 13, 2020

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Dr. Trupti Shirole. (2020, January 13). How is the Home Pregnancy Test Performed?. Medindia. Retrieved on May 28, 2022 from https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/how-is-the-home-pregnancy-test-performed.htm.
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Dr. Trupti Shirole. "How is the Home Pregnancy Test Performed?". Medindia. May 28, 2022. <https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/how-is-the-home-pregnancy-test-performed.htm>.
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Dr. Trupti Shirole. "How is the Home Pregnancy Test Performed?". Medindia. https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/how-is-the-home-pregnancy-test-performed.htm. (accessed May 28, 2022).
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Dr. Trupti Shirole. 2021. How is the Home Pregnancy Test Performed?. Medindia, viewed May 28, 2022, https://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/how-is-the-home-pregnancy-test-performed.htm.