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Pregnancy Testing If you think you may be pregnant, and can't bear to wait until you
visit your doctor, you may opt to buy a home-pregnancy testing kit,
available at most pharmacies. The latest kits are so sophisticated
and easy to use, and many will give you a result in a few minutes on
the day of your missed period.
The tests all indicate the presence of hormones in your urine. With
some of the tests you will need to collect a specimen, whereas with
others you can simply hold a sampler in the urine stream. The most
reliable results are normally obtained first thing in the morning
when you're likely to have a higher concentration of hormones
present in your urine. Ask you pharmacist to recommend the best
available product on the market.
If you get a positive result, it is almost certainly accurate and
you can assume that you are pregnant. Make an appointment to see
your doctor as soon as possible.
If the result is negative, but your period still ceases, do another
test seven days later. It might be that the hormone levels in your
body weren't high enough to register the first time. Most pregnancy
testing kits include two tests specially for this purpose. If it
shows negative the second time, but you simply feel that you are
pregnant, consult your doctor for his opinion and a blood test.
The most accurate way to confirm a pregnancy is through a blood
test, which can detect pregnancy at slightly less than two weeks
after fertilisation. There is still a slight margin for error at
this early stage, but by six weeks, when most women test for the
first time, the levels of the hormone HCG (Human Chorionic
Gonadotrophin) are mostly sufficient to provide an accurate test
result.
When is my baby due? Calculating your due date is probably the first thing most elated
new moms-to-be do. (Don't be alarmed if you find yourself working
out your estimated delivery date weekly - its quite common, when
overcome with excitement and apprehension !!) Here's how to do it:
Go back three calendar months from the first day of your last period
and then add on seven days.
e.g. First day of your last period:
March 13.
Go back three months:
February 13, January 13, December 13.
This brings you to:
December 13.
Add on seven days:
Your due date is December 20.
One woman's cycle may differ quite significantly to the next, so
when calculating your estimated delivery date, bear in mind the
length of your menstrual cycle. Conception is normally assumed to
have taken place around the fourteenth day of your menstrual cycle.
The estimations above were calculated for a 28 day cycle, and if
your cycle is longer than this, your delivery date may well be
later. For instance if your cycle runs into 33 days, the expected
date of delivery will be five days later than above. This is because
in a longer cycle, ovulation occurs later, with the same being true
in reverse - if your menstrual cycle is shorter than 28 days, your
expected delivery date will be earlier.
Between the 12th and
16th week of your pregnancy your doctor may do
an ultrasound scan, which is the method used to find the most
accurate confirmation of your date and to detect whether any
abnormalities exist. |
