Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

Although in the majority of the cases women have urine tests to find out whether you are pregnant, it is also possible to have a blood test for pregnancy.

Even more, it is also possible that such a test is more accurate than the tests performed with the help of urine.

Pregnancy blood test

This is also known as serum test and the main point is to see the exact level of hCG of the blood which can show whether you are pregnant or not. The hCG is known as a pregnancy hormone which is released by the placenta. The hormone can be detected about 10 days after fertilization.

Two main kinds of pregnancy blood tests are available: quantitative and qualitative. The first one measures the amount of the hormone in the bloodstream while the second one tells you if you are pregnant or not.

How early can you use the test?

The good thing about the blood test for pregnancy is that it can give you an answer earlier than the traditional home pregnancy tests.

Pregnancy can be detected in this case 7-12 days after the fertilization took place. This is an important piece of information for your gynecologist.

In case you experience the typical signs of pregnancy, it might be a good idea to have a pregnancy blood test to make sure that you are pregnant or to find out that the symptoms that you have been having were misleading.

Is it more accurate than urine test?

According to the latest studies regarding blood test for pregnancy shows that it is truly more accurate than urine tests. It has been shown that about 6% of the negative urine tests could be false. This means that although women have a negative result, they could still be pregnant.

Although the results were expected to be just about the same in case of pregnancy blood test and urine test, the tests performed on the test group have shown that it may be a better idea for women to have a blood test. Nonetheless keep in mind that you can’t have a test of this kind at home.

The meaning of the results

In case of a normal pregnancy the blood test for pregnancy should show gradually increasing levels of hCG over time. If this doesn’t happen, it might be an indication that the pregnancy in question is one of high risk. After the pregnancy is over, the hormone levels drop to zero.

The reliability of the test

It is said that the home tests are about 97% accurate. The pregnancy blood tests are supposed to be more accurate, still, not more sensitive. There are different factors that the results depend on, like methodology, the preforming lab and also the technique of testing used.

If you have a quantitative kind of blood test for pregnancy then you can find out the exact level of the hormone, even if it is very small. This may be more accurate than the qualitative test that you could have.