A pregnancy test measures a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). This hormone is produced during pregnancy and it appears in the blood and urine of pregnant women as early as 10 days after conception.
The test is performed to determine if you're pregnant, it measures the age of the fetus, and it diagnoses abnormal conditions that can raise HCG levels.
The test is performed using blood or urine. There are two types of blood tests - qualitative, which detects the presence of the HCG hormone, and quantitative, which measures the amount of HCG hormone present.
The blood test is done by drawing a single tube of blood and sending it to a laboratory. Results can come in anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
The urine HCG test, available over-the-counter, is usually performed by placing a drop of urine on a prepared chemical strip. It generally takes 1 to 2 minutes for a result.
If you are very early in your pregnancy, and the HCG level is below 25-50, a urine test may not detect the pregnancy, so be sure to follow up with your doctor if you think you may be pregnant.
You can sometimes get abnormal results that indicate an abnormal rising of HCG levels. Some problems associated with this include miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. Extremely high levels of HCG may suggest a molar pregnancy or more than one fetus -for example, twins. Your doctor will understand the significance of your HCG levels and discuss the levels with you.
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