When to use a pregnancy test strip
Disease description:
My best friend's period is late, and she said it might be pregnancy, so I would like to know when to use a pregnancy test strip?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Zhang Lu
Generally, it is recommended to use a pregnancy test strip one week after a woman's menstrual period has stopped. The details are as follows:
Pregnancy test strips are a convenient method for detecting whether a woman is pregnant. They work by measuring the level of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the urine to determine pregnancy.
Pregnancy test strips are typically recommended to be used one week after the expected menstrual cycle—if the menstrual period has been delayed for at least one week. At this time, testing will be more accurate. This is because hormone levels gradually rise after pregnancy, but they can only be detected after the fertilized egg has implanted, a process that usually takes about 10 days. Since the hCG concentration in morning urine tends to be higher, using morning urine can improve the accuracy of the test. However, as pregnancy progresses, urine collected at any time of day can be used for testing.
If the initial test result is positive (indicating pregnancy), it is recommended to visit a hospital for further diagnostic testing to confirm the pregnancy and assess the development of the embryo.
