Different types of Pregnancy Tests

There are many choices available in front of you when it comes to pregnancy tests. You can do a pregnancy test at home or approach a doctor to do that test. In most of the cases, both are done. Usually they test first at home and then approach a doctor to confirm that.

Knowing the phrase - The Rabbit Died

In the earlier days rabbits and mice had to die in order to determine pregnancy. They also used frogs and the frogs lived while the other animals like rabbits and mice died if the test was positive. This is how the phrase the rabbit died came into existence.

We have come a long way since that period and now we use chemical agents that would tell if a woman is pregnant or not. These chemical agents react with the urine and tell the result. There is no loss of lives like rabbits and mice as was in those days. The woman has to wait for a few minutes now a days to know the result.

The choices are many now-a-days. Studies conducted on 18 different kits have revealed many interesting facts that were not even disclosed by the manufacturers of these kits. It is found that the pregnancy tests using these kits were basically done by detecting a hormone called hCG that is found in the urine of a pregnant woman. This hormone is released only when the woman is pregnant. This hormone is released once the embryo attached itself to the uterine wall. If the kit detects this hormone then the woman is considered pregnant. You have to wait for a few days after the period stops to find an accurate result with these pregnancy kits.

Comparing the sensitivities of the different products

The sensitivity of the pregnancy strips to the hCG hormone determines how effective is that strip. The hormone levels would be of the order of mIU. Most of the products that are available in the market are sensitive to 100 mIU of hCG. There are products that can even detect 6.5 mIU of hCG. These more sensitive products are a little bit costly than the other ones. Products like EPT were in the market that detected hormone levels of even 40 mIU. You know these sensitivities to choose a product that is more effective in detecting pregnancy.

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