Something feels… different. Maybe it’s your intuition that drops a hint, perhaps you feel a little off, or you might’ve missed your period. So, you decide to take a pregnancy test. A quick trip to the drugstore. The little stick you take into the bathroom with you. And the results that are delivered within minutes. Is this the best way to really determine if you’re pregnant? Are home pregnancy tests accurate? What other options do you have? Let’s look at it a little more closely!

How Do Home Pregnancy Tests Work?

First of all, how is it even possible that you’re able to urinate on a stick and find out if you’re pregnant?

In your body, you have something called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). It lives in your urine and blood. This is what your home pregnancy test is looking for to determine if you’re pregnant or not. Your body takes time to build up its level of HCG. When you become pregnant, it increases. This is what triggers a pregnancy test to come back positive — elevated levels of HCG.

These tests are quick, easy, and (usually) affordable. So, a home pregnancy test might be a good place to start, but how much can you really trust these store-bought tests? Are home pregnancy tests accurate? The answer is… kind of.

Are Home Pregnancy Tests Accurate and Trustworthy?

How seriously can you take the results that your home pregnancy test gives you? A lot of these tests will boast on the front of the box that they’re 99% accurate. Well, that seems like good odds, but the problem is that there’s too much room for things to go wrong, giving you a negative result when you’re actually pregnant. For example, if you take a test too early, you might not yet have enough HCG in your body for the test to detect your pregnancy. So, it’ll return a negative result, meaning that you’re not pregnant, even if you are.

Different tests have different levels of sensitivity, too. Some can detect a pregnancy before the next missed period, while others cannot.

You can also get unreliable results if you provide too much urine or not enough, or if you check the test too soon. (Read the instructions to see how many minutes you need to wait before reading your results, and set a timer!) Additionally, different tests show their results in different ways. One vertical line might mean you’re pregnant — or two horizontal lines, or a smiley face, or a “P.” Interpreting your home pregnancy test results isn’t always that obvious or intuitive.

If you’re taking fertility medicine that contains HCG, this could impact your results.

And, while it’s not very common, a home pregnancy test could tell you that you’re pregnant even when you’re not. Fertility medicine can trigger this. It can also happen if you had a pregnancy loss not long after the fertilized egg had attached itself to the lining of the uterus. Certain issues with your ovaries or menopause can lead to a false-positive test result, too.

It’s important to closely follow the directions of your home pregnancy test. Furthermore, aim to take the test first thing in the morning, right after you wake up. This is because this is the time of day when your urine is most concentrated. It’ll be easier for the test to pick up on the amount of HCG in your body.

These are some things you can do to increase the likelihood that your results are accurate — but there’s an even better solution.

Blood Tests: A Better Alternative to Home Pregnancy Tests

We know that it might feel quick, easy, and convenient to reach for a home pregnancy test. And it’s okay if you want to use this as a first step. However, it’s crucial that you follow up with a blood test, which is a lot more foolproof and accurate.

Blood tests work similarly to home pregnancy tests in that they detect how much HCG is in the body. However, they can detect far lower levels than urine pregnancy tests, which means they’re more sensitive. Also, considering the nature of the testing — the fact that it’s a medical professional collecting the blood sample — there’s a much smaller margin of error.

Getting a pregnancy blood test is easy. It doesn’t require a long drive to the doctor’s office or sitting in the waiting room for hours. Order your blood test with eNational in just a few clicks and receive your results within one business day. If you need to follow up or have questions about your results, you’ll have the opportunity to speak with a clinician.

If you’re also interested in tracking your fertility, be sure to learn about our fertility tracking panel. This panel quantifies two of the most common fertility measures: progesterone (which tells us about your current fertility and could also diagnose adrenal gland problems) and AMH (which tells us about your overall ovarian health and correlates to your number of remaining eggs). This is also a blood draw, with results available in four to 10 business days.

eNational has more than 2,700 locations across the United States, making getting your pregnancy blood test fast and convenient. You don’t even need to visit your doctor first. Simply find the location closest to you, order your test online, and show up for your appointment! The results will be sent to you via email within a business day.