You are hoping to become a mother soon. You are excited to conceive a baby and let it go inside your womb. After having unprotected sex during your ovulation, most people prefer using an at-home pregnancy test kit the moment they miss their period. But the accuracy that comes with these at-home pregnancy test kits is a debatable topic.
This is the only reason why your gynecologist and your nearest walk-in clinic doctors ask you to undergo a series of other blood tests. These blood tests are nothing but an effective way to prove and confirm your pregnancy. Using a urine sample on a pregnancy test kit gives you 95% accurate results. But to be 100% sure, undergoing a pregnancy blood test is a must.
Since most of you have no clue about a pregnancy blood test and do not know the perfect time to perform this test, we are here to help you. In this blog, we will share details about pregnancy blood tests, why you need them, accuracy, and many more.
Working of a pregnancy blood test
The purpose of a blood pregnancy test is to check the HCG level or human chorionic gonadotropin level in your blood. Inside your reproductive system, the Placenta takes up the responsibility of nourishing your baby and letting it grow slowly. While performing this function the placenta releases HCG or the human chorionic gonadotropin.
In the early phase of your pregnancy journey, you will have a high level of 8 HCG. To be more precise, your HCG level will keep on increasing at an interval of every 2 to 3 days. So, if you see a certain percentage of HCG level today, after 3 days this value may get doubled. This is normal and a sign of a healthy pregnancy. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about this.
By the time you reach the end of your first trimester or enter into the 10th week of your pregnancy, this HCG level will start dropping gradually and get into a stable zone for the rest of your pregnancy journey.
Other blood tests for pregnancy
You must be wondering if there are some other ways to confirm your pregnancy. Well, the doctors use these two different blood tests to find out if you are pregnant:
Qualitative blood test:
The qualitative blood test is very similar to using any pregnancy test kit by providing a urine sample. In this test, the doctors can check the presence of HCG in your blood. Through this simple blood test, you can know if you are actually pregnant. The answer that this test can provide you is either “Yes, you are pregnant” or “No, you are not pregnant.”
Quantitative blood test:
In the quantitative blood test, you can not only identify the presence of HCG but also its amount in your blood. Also known as the beta HCG test, this not only confirms your pregnancy but also helps your medical professional get an insight into your health condition better. Based on your HCG level, your gynecologist can give you an estimated due date or tell you if there are any complications in your pregnancy journey.
Frequency of taking the pregnancy blood test
The humongous excitement and rapid rush of emotions while embracing motherhood may bring a lot of queries to your mind. Of all, one such vital query is the time at which you need to go through this blood test.
During the early days of your pregnancy, the HCG levels are a bit more sensitive than later in life. So, it is better to carry out the test as soon as you feel you might be pregnant or you have had unprotected sex and there is an absence of menstruation. Generally, a normal urine pregnancy test will never show any changes in the HCG before conception. However, the blood pregnancy test can detect this in 6 to 8 days.
Accuracy of a blood pregnancy test
You must be wondering about the accuracy of both the quantitative and qualitative blood tests. Well, in both cases. the results are 99% accurate. However, make sure to never take a blood pregnancy test in a lot of hurry. Taking a test too early is sure to produce negative results.
This happens because of the low range of HCG levels in your blood. You need to give some time to your entire body to process your pregnancy and make the necessary changes in the hormones. To get an accurate result, take some time, and wait for a few days to conduct the test.
Conclusion
Therefore, a private pregnancy blood test is a must-have to understand whether you are pregnant. Unfortunately, you cannot take this test at home. Instead, you will have to reach out to a walk-in clinic doctor’s chamber and take his help.
