HRC Fertility’s Dr. Rachael Mandelbaum and Dr. Alison Peck Discuss Pregnancy Tests and Frequently Asked Questions.

Embarking on the journey of early pregnancy testing can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. Understanding the nuances of at-home pregnancy tests—from when to take them to how they work—can provide clarity during this pivotal moment. “Many at-home tests can start becoming positive as early as 8 or 9 days post-ovulation,” says Rachel Mandelbaum, an OBGYN and Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist, “however, the risk of testing this early is that completely normal pregnancies may not be producing sufficient hormone human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG) to be detected so early.” She says that 99% of pregnancies test positive on the first day of a missed period (on average 14 days post ovulation).

How Soon Is Too Soon To Test?

Some at-home pregnancy tests (like First Response Early Results) say they can detect if you’re pregnant or not up to six days before your period is due to start. How do they do it? At-home pregnancy tests use the hCG to detect pregnancy, and some are more sensitive to hCG than others. Mandelbaum explains the reason why some tests work earlier is because they have a lower threshold for detecting hCG, while others won’t show a positive until later when you have a higher amount. Alison Peck, an OBGYN and Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist says testing too early also risks picking up on what’s called a chemical pregnancy, “when an embryo implants and begins to divide and release the pregnancy hormone beta HCG and then stops dividing and the hormone goes down.”

HRC Fertility’s Dr. Alison Peck and Dr. Rachel Mandelbaum share their expert insights on at-home pregnancy tests in the Babylist article, seen here.