Doesn’t it sound delightful when you get to know that a new member is going to arrive in your life!? You and your spouse might have longed to become parents. Finally, countdown has started and it’s now time to prepare things for future.
When you have spent tireless nights in the hope of begetting a child, you must have thought of pregnancy tests, right? In this following blog, we will answer all of your queries regarding this topic – right from what a pregnancy test is, how to detect a positive one to everything in between.
So, keep reading and enjoy the amazing phase of to-be-parents!
What is a Pregnancy Test?
It is simply a quantitative test for hormonal presence (scientifically termed as hCG test). Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), produced at the primary phase of pregnancy serves as a positive indicator.
This test works by quantifying the amount of hCG hormone present in a female’s blood or urine. Pregnancy kits; readily available in the market can help confirm your pregnancy at the comfort of your own home.
Purpose of Pregnancy test
The human chorionic gonadotropin test (as stated above) is crucial for investigating the early phases of pregnancy. It assists the body in maintaining a healthy environment for the fetus to develop.
hCG is secreted by the uterine wall as well as the embryo. It provides nourishment for the development of the latter. Within a week of implantation, the levels of hCG hormone spike up in the blood.
The excess hormone in the body is excreted out through urine. Therefore, its presence can be easily indicated through a pregnancy test.
Pregnancy tests are performed mainly to determine:
- Progesterone production – A female’s HCG level infers about the status of corpus luteum. It is a glandular, organ-like structure which is formed after the completion of ovulatory phase.
After the mature egg is released from the ovary, the follicle remnants turn into corpus luteum. It is mainly responsible for the production of the hormone progesterone, which helps maintain the uterine lining for the purpose of implantation.
- Implantation of zygote – hCG production is stimulated manifold when the zygote has been implanted into the uterus. Therefore, it serves as a confirmatory test for pregnancy.
Moreover, it is responsible for triggering the thyroid gland to secrete thyroxine. Thyroxine maintains the implanted state of the fetus.
Pregnancy kit – components and mode of working
You can have the test approximately four days prior to your preferable date of missed periods. But how does that little test strip work?
A pregnancy test strip constitutes of four main parts:
- Sample pad – This is the region where your urine drop is placed.
- Antibodies – Monoclonal antibodies are set in the test strip, right next to the sampling spot. These lab-generated antibodies are meant to conjugate with hCG present in the sample. They are dyed for the purpose of identification.
- Test line – When the hormone binds with the colored monoclonal antibodies, they chemically react and create a line. This indicates a positive result. However, hCG is absent, the antibodies will remain in unbound form and no line is going to appear.
- Control chamber – The void window at the top of pregnancy test kit is to indicate if the test is working by itself or not. The stained non-bound antibodies will traverse into the control area. It contains more antibodies.
The purpose of these excess antibodies is to identify the colored ones and get attached to them. This results the dye to generate a “control line,” thus confirming that the antibodies are active and the test is working properly.
Therefore, two distinct lines confirm a positive result whereas one line gives negative.
The monthly guideline – When your test would be positive?
Have you ever been worried if your test would likely turn out to be positive or not? Even after reading so much biology, somewhere it happens to be confusion, right? Never mind, we will sort it out for you!
The timeline mentioned below can guide you about the actual timing and duration of your monthly cycle.
- Day 1st– The commencement of your menstrual phase.
- Day 2nd to14th – Follicular maturation takes place in one of your ovaries. The follicle contains an ovum.
- Day 15th – The ovum is finally released (process being known as ovulation).
- Day 15th to16th– The egg traverses down your fallopian tube and heads toward uterus. Building up of the two hormones occurs; namely estrogen and progesterone.
- Day 16th to 21st – There is formation of corpus luteum. More hormone stimulation.
- Day 22nd-25th – The uterine wall thickens and there is a big upsurge of progesterone. It maintains the thickened state of uterus.
- Day 25th to 29th– The cycle completes as you get periods again.
Best time for baby-planning
From the above information, you can understand the timing of your cycle. Therefore, the most favorable time for conceiving is within one to two days post-ovulation phase. The chances of getting pregnant are highest during this time and you can easily pass your preg- test. Happy now?
Symptoms of Pregnancy
Much before one takes a pregnancy test, the physical manifestations are observed. There are a whole lot of symptoms present, the commonest indicator being “missing periods”. Nevertheless, the ignored signs involve:
- Experiencing sore breasts
- Urinating frequently
- Getting nauseous
- Excessive bloating
- Lower abdominal cramps
- Tiredness and headache
- Frequent mood swings
- Back pain
If you are experiencing any of these above symptoms, Congratulations!
Private Pregnancy Tests in London
You can achieve confirmatory outcomes through the help of our private pregnancy tests in London. Our sophisticated pregnancy blood tests can offer you a definitive result, with maximum accuracy. Moreover, you can get the benefit of booking appointments with leading gynecology specialists for pre-natal nursing. Apart from delivering private pregnancy tests in London, we provide a range of other services too. They are as follows:
- Linking with other private healthcare clinics
- Arranging for Private GP consultation for pregnancy-related complications
- Furnishing same-day pregnancy test results in a hassle-free way
Conclusion
Our private pregnancy tests in London give you an ultimate guide to support you throughout your special journey. If you have symptoms of pregnancy; hurry up and book your test slots today!
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