Onset of Pregnancy is a time that is approached by most women with a mixture of emotions- sometimes excitement, sometimes with worry. Whatever emotion you might feel, a simple pregnancy test lets you know conclusively whether you are pregnant or not.

The symptoms of pregnancy can confirm your suspicions. It can be a missed period, nausea, tenderness of breasts, and fatigue. A simple pregnancy test is designed to tell you if your urine or blood contains the hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin or hcg. This is produced immediately after a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterus. This procedure happens six days after fertilization. If your pregnancy is confirmed, the levels of Hcg continue to increase doubling every two to three days.

There are mainly two types of pregnancy tests- urine tests and blood tests. Urine tests can be conveniently done at home or in a doctor’s office. Most women prefer to conduct a home pregnancy test within a week of a missed period. These are most convenient and afford privacy. A home pregnancy test comes with instructions. If instructions can be followed closely, you are assured of getting accurate results. After the initial testing, you can consult your doctor to get more sensitive tests done to confirm pregnancy conclusively.

The most common types of home pregnancy involve use of a test strip or drip stick that is held in the urine stream or dipped into a sample of urine. An area on the end of the test strip changes color if hCG is present, confirming pregnancy. The second type makes use of a urine collection cup with a test device. In this test, you can place several drops of urine into a well in the test device or you may place the test device into urine collected in a cup. If an area of the device changes color, that means Hcg is present and you are pregnant. The first urine in the morning that has collected in the ladder over night is the most effective to use and gives accurate results. Most home detection pregnancy kits show accurate results about a week after a missed period.

There are two types of blood pregnancy tests. A qualitative hcg test just checks to see if hcg is present. Doctors order these tests to confirm pregnancy as early as ten days after a missed period. Some blood tests can detect Hcg much earlier.

A quantitative hcg test or beta hcg means the exact amount of hcg levels in the blood. It can detect even very low levels. This test can effectively rule out a tubal or ectopic pregnancy.