Pregnancy tests known as HPTs for those that are taken at home are the most common way for women to discover that they are pregnant. It used to be that women went to a doctor's office and had a blood test to find out if they were pregnant or not. That is not to say that it still doesn't happen that way, because it does. Women who are being followed by a fertility specialist will more than likely be warned not to take an HPT but to wait for the blood test result that the RA will have performed at the appropriate time. How many of these women actually can wait until that day? Most will probably tell you that they cheated and took an HPT anyways just because they couldn't wait or so that they could be prepared for the blood test result emotionally.

A home pregnancy test (HPT) is relatively inexpensive, and can be done in the privacy of your own home. No one else has to know the result until you are ready to share, not even your doctor's office.

There are many HPTs on the market today. There are many popular brands such as the Early-Pregnancy-Tests, the Aim Stick Dipstick, the Clearblue Easy, One Step Be Sure, E.P.T., Early Pregnancy Test, and then there are those that are brands marketed by drugstores like the Rite-Aid brand, and the CVS brand.

Generally the soonest you can test with these brands of HPTs will depend upon how sensitive the particular test is. The screen needs to happen before hCG is created and detectible in the urine. This normally happens somewhere between 6 and 12 days after the egg was discharged from the ovary. To make sure that you do not to waste your money buying tests that are used too early to show results, it is suggested that you try to wait until they are at least 12 days after ovulation. If the test can be put off until the first day of your anticipated period, there is a 90% chance of receiving a correct HPT test result. By waiting until a week past that first expected day of her period, the accuracy rate shoots up to 97%.

It's better to screen with urine collected first thing in the morning. This is because this urine contains the highest concentration of the hCG hormone. The greater the concentration the more distinct the test line and easier it is to see the result. This will make it easier to know your answer. If you do not test that first morning urine, it will work if you wait approximately 4 to 5 hours (holding your urine). You can use this urine to test. This should have a high enough concentration of hCG to have an accurate result.

It is rare to get a negative HPT result when you are indeed pregnant but it does happen if you test too early.

The accuracy of the screen depends upon whether or not you observed the directions, the day within your period that you take the test, the time of day when you take the test, and also the brand of examination you use. This is because some home pregnancy tests are more sensitive than others.