Most women want to know as soon as possible, of course, and that is why high-sensitivity tests are very popular, especially among women who are actively trying to have a baby. For women who are fertility charting and know when they ovulate every cycle, having a high-sensitivity pregnancy test is perfect. At seven or eight days past ovulation, you can begin testing - the very minute it becomes permissible by instructional guidelines. Of course, a negative result does not rule out the possibility of pregnancy when testing this early! However, at this time frame is when a positive result can begin to appear (based on the average amount of h Cg present in pregnant women at this time). As any woman who fertility charts knows, you can increase the accuracy and early-detection capability of a pregnancy test by using a "first morning" urine sample. This is because the amount of h Cg in first morning urine will be higher than other times during the day. Read our chart below to find out which test is the most sensitive.
There is one disadvantage of high-sensitivity tests, and that is the case of a chemical pregnancy. A chemical pregnancy is essentially a miscarriage that takes place during the earliest stages of a pregnancy. With a chemical pregnancy, h Cg is produced, but only for a short period of time as the pregnancy does not continue. In fact, a large percentage of pregnancies do result in miscarriage just shortly after implantation. This is a very different situation than a later-term miscarriage and women should understand that chemical pregnancies are not uncommon. Unless you are testing early, most women may not even be aware that they were pregnant as a chemical pregnancy will often end before any physical pregnancy symptoms manifest (including a missed period). With a very sensitive pregnancy test, it is possible to receive a positive result - and then later test negative if the woman experiences a miscarriage (chemical pregnancy).