How accurate are home pregnancy tests?

Question

I haven't had my period in two months. I did a home pregnancy test last night and it came back negative. I'm just wondering what the chances are that it could be wrong? Has anyone ever had a test show negative when they really were pregnant?

Answer 1

Most tests are over 99% correct after a week or two of the time you possibly got pregnant. I had 2 months of no period earlier this year and I am not pregnant. You could just be missing periods because you are stressed, or some type of life changing event has happened, or you are very athletic. A lot of gymnasts don't have them regularly. I hope this helps.!

Answer 2

YES! I took literally 20 home pregnancy test's, and all came back negative. Finally, sick of feeling like a crazy person, I went to the Dr. and had them do a blood test. Sure enough, I was 1 1/2 months pregnant. I followed the directions to the letter on every home pregnancy test I took, and took several different brands. They aren't 100% accurate. The BEST way to tell if you are pregnant is to get a blood test. They can tell as early as 1 day after conception of you are pregnant. You may or may not be, but if you are, your HCG levels may be to low to detect on a home pregnancy test, and that is not uncommon at all. Good Luck Dear, I hope you get the results you are looking for!

Answer 3

i used to be able to set my clock by my period. Just kidding, but really my period was extremely regular. so the one time it did not come as scheduled which was a Monday. I took a home pregnancy test. that same day! It came with 2. I used both 3 days apart and it confirmed a pregnancy. I went to the doctor a month later b/c i was in denial, and yes for sure I was pregnant. From my experience they are accurate. if your not happy with your results consult your physician

Answer 4

Assuming you follow the instructions on the box (use first morning urine, don't test too early, etc.) they're 99% accurate. It's very common for women to get false negatives (you're pregnant, but it says you're not). However, I imagine after 2 months, the hcg would be strong enough in your urine that it would definitely come back positive. Have you tried a different brand/type of test? If you're truly concerned, have your ob/gyn or midwife do a blood test. That'll tell you 100% accurately whether you are or aren't. In my (un) professional opinion, you're probably not.

Answer 5

It's possible for the tests to read a false negative, but the tests are 99% accurate, so it's rare.

I would wait a few days and retest with your first morning urine (that's the most accurate). If it's still negative then you probably aren't pregnant. That happened to me a couple of times and it just happened that my period was late, not because I was pregnant.

Answer 6

Home pregnancy tests are pretty accurate. The accuracy declines the earlier you take the test. Of course, nothing is perfect and some can be defective. You're doctor can do a blood test, which is more accurate.

Answer 7

They are usually over 90% accurate but there are such things as false negatives. My sister in laws friend didnt know she was pregnant until her fourth month because she still had light bleeding every month and tests kept coming up negative. She had her doctor do a blood test and was very surprised when her doc told her she was pregnant.

Answer 8

False negatives are fairly common. Are you using the first morning urine? You should have a blood test done. They are much more accurate. ANd if you aren't pregnant, the doctor will look into why you haven't had your period.

Answer 9

some women will not pick up the hCG in the urine..so I recommend going to the doctor office to get a blood test done..

here are two types of blood tests you can get from a health care provider. A quantitative blood test (or the beta hCG test) measures the exact amount of hCG in the blood. This means it can pick up very small amounts of hCG, making it a very accurate test. A qualitative hCG blood test gives a simple yes or no answer to whether you are pregnant. This test is more like a urine test in terms of its accuracy.

Blood tests can pick up hCG earlier in a pregnancy than urine tests can. Blood tests can tell if you are pregnant about 6 to 8 days after you ovulate (or release an egg from an ovary). Urine tests can determine pregnancy about 2 weeks after ovulation. Some more sensitive urine tests can tell if you are pregnant as early as 6 days after you conceive, or one day after you miss a menstrual period.

so i recommend going to the doctor office to get a blood test done

Answer 10

If your periods are normal, you might want to contact your doctor right away. Pregnancy tests are like 99.9999 accurate so you might want to get a blood test to rule out some sort of hormone imbalance or something. Also, if you have become significantly overweight or underweight, that can also cause this.