Can pregnancy tests be wrong? This is something that many women question – whether they have had a positive or negative result. The truth is that yes, sometimes they can be wrong and usually it is a negative result that will come out wrong. To work out whether you have a false result, you will need to know more about the pregnancy tests.
How can pregnancy tests be wrong?
Home pregnancy tests will measure the amount of pregnancy hormone in your urine. This will determine whether you are pregnant or not. There are a number of factors that can affect the levels of the hormone and provide the wrong test result.
Pregnancy tests work well on the first day of a missed period – but there are some that can be taken up to four days beforehand.
To be able to test the level of hormone, the tests work better with the first urine of the day and before excess fluids have been drank, which will often dilute the levels of the hormone and give a false negative.
The test will also need to be taken correctly, which means the instructions will need to be read beforehand.
Take some time to read through how you are supposed to take the test; how long to urinate on the stick and how to hold the stick afterwards. If you do it incorrectly, you will usually not get any result at all.
Reasons for a false negative
Now, instead of looking at how can pregnancy tests be wrong, it is worth looking at why a false negative will appear. There are a number of reasons for this, including the reasons mentioned above.
The most common reason is taking the test too early, which is the case if you have lost track of your cycle dates or have irregular periods. Taking the test too early will mean that the levels of pregnancy hormones are not detectable yet. If there are chances that you took the test too early, then you should take another one a week later.
Reasons for a false positive
Can pregnancy tests be wrong? Can they give a false positive? Unfortunately, the answer to this is yes. There are a number of factors that can cause this, including an early miscarriage, which is a devastating time for couples.
The problem is that the pregnancy hormone will still be in the body for about a week after the miscarriage has occurred so a positive result will still happen. If you suspect that there has been a miscarriage – either you are suddenly bleeding or are experience stomach cramps – then you will need to take another test a week later. Your doctor will also be able to schedule an ultrasound to check for this.
Can pregnancy tests be wrong due to medication?
There are a number of different types of medication that will affect the results of a home pregnancy test. Most of these will be listed on the leaflet that comes with the test, but include medication for Parkinson’s disease, some sleeping tablets and medication for heart disease among many others. To find out how these will affect your test, you will need to speak to your doctor or check your medication information leaflets.
