nannytomom.com: Pregnancy / Birth Archives

What are the features you look for in a good home pregnancy test? Funny question, I know, but seriously....those suckers are expensive, so you want to make sure you're getting a good deal, right?

Early detection: You could always just wait it out and see if you get your period, but come on! Who wants to wait? What makes a pregnancy test detect a pregnancy earlier than others is the amount of hCG (the hormone a woman's body produces during pregnancy) that the test can pick up. Most of the more sensitive tests detect hCG at 20-25 mIU/mL (milli-international units per milliliter).

Reliability: You want a test that will give you a positive if you're pregnant and a negative if you're not. Of course there's room for false negatives (you're pregnant but the test says you're not) if you tested too early, but you should never get a test telling you you're pregnant if you're not (false positive). Tests with a high rate of false positives and evaporation lines can be confusing and frustrating.

Ease of use: They're not really hard to use, but some do have different methods of applying urine to the stick. There's the hold-the-stick-in-the-pee-stream method (midstream), the pee-in-a-cup-and-dip-the-stick-in-the-pee method (dip-strip), and the pee-in-a-cup-and-use-a-dropper-to-suck-up-the-pee-and-put-a-few-drops-on-the-test method (cassette). Although they're all simple to do, many women prefer the midstream or dip-strip styles.

Ease of reading: The standard 2 vertical lines are usually more clear and easier to read than the +/- tests, but many women also really like the newer digital tests that display the words "pregnant" or "not pregnant."

Here are two of the most reliable brands that detect hCG at 25 mIU/mL:


First Response Early Result	Fact Plus One-Step

These two are also good, but they detect at 50 mIU/mL:


e.p.t	Accu-Clear

Picking up a test at the drugstore for 10-15 bucks isn't your only option. You can also go with the store brand tests; most of them are made by the same company. Many dollar stores also carry home pregnancy tests, and the vast majority are just as sensitive and reliable (if not more) as the big name brands. Another option is to buy tests in bulk online from a site like www.saveontests.com or www.testsforless.com. You can find any of the three types of tests (midstream, dip-strip, cassette), and you can expect to pay between 30 cents and a couple dollars per test, depending on the type and quantity you buy. The cheapest are usually dip strips, which are thin, flexible strips. They're the same thing as the innards of a regular home pregnancy test without the hard plastic cover.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the website peeonastick.com, or POAS for short, it's a great resource for all things related to home pregnancy tests! I'm not at all affiliated with that site, but I have used it as a reference many times in the past, and I've learned most of the things I know about pregnancy tests from the experiments and information there.

Pregnancy / Birth Archives

March 8, 2007

Which home pregnancy test is the best?

Search

About Pregnancy / Birth