Does it really matter when you take a pregnancy test

If you’re trying to get pregnant, the best time to take a pregnancy test is one week after you’ve missed your period. Why? Because this is really the best way to prevent a false negative result (a negative test in someone who's actually pregnant) result.

Home pregnancy tests can be used as early as the first day after your first missed period in women with regular/predictable monthly menses. If you have irregular periods, you can administer a test 14 days after intercourse, since you likely can’t pinpoint your exact time of ovulation.

Pregnancy tests detect a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which is produced in early pregnancy. The production of this hormone begins slowly and increases as the pregnancy grows. Standard urine pregnancy tests will detect the HCG level when it reaches 20-50 milliunits/milliliters.

If you take a test too soon (before you've missed your period), the levels of HCG may not be high enough to detect a pregnancy and it could cause a negative result, even though you're actually pregnant.

I advise my patients to wait at least one day after you miss your period. If you wait one week after a missed period, the chance of a false negative is very low if you have a normal monthly menstrual cycle.

Brand name versus generic pregnancy tests

Home pregnancy tests, both brand name and generic, are very accurate at detecting the HCG hormone and any positive result, even a faint line, can be considered positive. HCG is only produced by a pregnancy; any positive result indicates a pregnancy.

You don’t need a serum (blood) pregnancy test to confirm pregnancy. Both urine and blood detect HCG, although the blood test is more sensitive and can detect HCG levels at much lower levels than a urine test. In certain situations, your doctor may want to perform a blood HCG test but it’s not typically needed to confirm a pregnancy.

Although most tests advertise 99% accuracy, the ability of a particular brand to detect HCG at levels less than 50 ml may vary. Some brands may be better able to detect lower levels of HCG than others. If your HCG level is more than 50 ml, which is the detection rate of most tests, even generic tests will detect a pregnancy accurately.

How to prevent a false negative result

The number one cause of a false negative test is taking the test too soon after you conceive. Also, if you don’t follow the test instructions carefully, it could affect your result.

Urine, even in women who drink large amounts of water, should still yield a positive result. But urine shouldn’t be diluted with water before taking a test. A good time to take the test is in the morning when you first wake up.

If a test is negative in a woman who suspects she’s pregnant or if she has irregular cycles, she should repeat the test in one week.

Medications and test results

Medications don’t typically interfere with results, neither causing false positive nor false negative. Only a medication containing HCG would affect the result.

When to see your doctor

Although home tests can detect a pregnancy, it gives no information as to viability. It’s important to make an appointment with your doctor to confirm your pregnancy and to detect a fetal heart rate through an ultrasound (usually at six to 10 weeks). If you have a positive pregnancy test, your obstetrician can provide information about warning signs of an abnormal or worrisome pregnancy and can advise you on when to make an appointment to confirm your pregnancy.

When you’re trying to conceive and are wondering if you’re pregnant, minutes can feel like hours, and hours can feel like an eternity — especially if you’re feeling symptoms of early pregnancy. You may find yourself wondering if you really have to wait for that morning urine or if you can accurately take a pregnancy test at night.

We’ll explain how pregnancy tests work and outline what doctors and midwives recommend, so you can decide if you’ll hold out until morning or go ahead and take a home pregnancy test at night.


How Do Home Pregnancy Tests Work?

Home pregnancy tests work by detecting the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone in your urine. Your placenta rapidly produces this hormone in the first few days of pregnancy after the embryo implants into your uterine wall. After implantation, your hCG doubles every two to three days. This hormone supports the development of your growing baby.

Most home pregnancy tests require that you either collect your urine in a cup and dip the stick into your urine or place the stick in your urine midstream. With some, you even have to collect urine and insert it into a well on the stick, using an eyedropper.

Then you need to lay the test on a flat surface and wait for a designated period (usually three to five minutes). After this time, you’ll look for a change in color, a line, or a symbol to confirm pregnancy.

When to Take a Home Pregnancy Test

Most home pregnancy tests claim to detect pregnancy as early as three to four days before your missed period. But for the most accurate results, healthcare providers recommend waiting until one week after your missed period (1).

You may even experience some pregnancy symptoms before taking a test, such as:

  • Nausea or vomiting.
  • Food aversions or cravings.
  • Fatigue.
  • Implantation bleeding or implantation cramping.
  • Lightheaded or dizziness.
  • Tender or swollen breasts.
  • Frequent urination.
  • Enhanced sense of smell.

If you’re experiencing any pregnancy symptoms, it is certainly okay to take a pregnancy test sooner. Just know you may get a false negative from taking it too early. A false negative means a negative result when you are actually pregnant.

This could happen because you don’t have enough hCG in your urine yet to be detectable. If you get a negative result but think you’re pregnant, wait five to seven days and take another test.

Taking a Pregnancy Test at Night

All home pregnancy tests are designed to detect hCG, but there are certain times of the day when it’s more readily detectable.

Take Note

No matter which tests you buy, your first morning urine will always produce the most accurate results as it is more concentrated, allowing hCG levels to be higher and easier to detect.

However, no one can stop you from taking a home pregnancy test at night. If you really can’t wait until morning, go ahead and take one.

The only issue is it might be inaccurate.

If the test comes back positive at night, you are most likely pregnant as it is pretty rare to get a false-positive result (but not impossible). A false positive is a positive pregnancy test when you are not pregnant.

False positives are usually the result of an ectopic pregnancy, early miscarriage, fertility drugs, or user error (reading the test too soon or too late or misinterpreting the evaporation line as a positive line).

If your test comes back negative, you can try again in the morning. You may get a different result with your first morning urine as there may have been too little of the hCG hormone in your urine at night to trigger a positive result.

Pay attention to the fine print on the pregnancy test pamphlet. When it says it’s 99 percent accurate, it doesn’t mean it’s that accurate before you expect your period but only after you have already missed it.

What About a Blood Test?

Blood tests also work by detecting the hCG hormone but can detect pregnancy much sooner than a urine test (about 7-12 days from conception).

A blood test should give you the same result no matter what time of day, but they are more expensive, have to be done at a doctor’s office, and take longer to get results back.


Get Testing

  • If you think you might be pregnant but are too anxious to wait until morning to take a pregnancy test, go ahead and take one. However, taking a pregnancy test at night could lead to inaccurate results.
  • If you take a pregnancy test at night and get a positive result, you are most likely pregnant. If the result is negative, you might not be pregnant. However, it’s possible you are pregnant but didn’t have high enough hCG levels in your urine to be detectable.

So if you get a negative result, take another test in the morning. You may get a different result with your first morning urine.

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Is it better to take a pregnancy test in the morning or does it matter?

Remember, morning tends to be the best time to take home pregnancy tests, because hCG levels in urine are concentrated after a night without much drinking and peeing. If you're still very early in your pregnancy and hCG levels are only starting to rise, it may be wise not to test at night. Symptoms of pregnancy.

Can we do pregnancy test at night?

However, you can still take a pregnancy test in the middle of the day, or even at night. You're just more likely to get a false negative, especially if your period isn't that late, and especially if you've been drinking a lot of water and your urine is diluted.

At what point in pregnancy will a test show positive?

In many cases, you might get a positive from an at-home test as early as 10 days after conception. For a more accurate result, wait until after you've missed your period to take a test. Remember, if you take a test too soon it could be negative even if you are pregnant.

Can I get a negative pregnancy test at night and positive in the morning?

Although you may take a pregnancy test at night, the test may be a false negative since urine tends to be more diluted at night. This is why doctors recommend taking a pregnancy test in the morning, especially in the first couple of weeks of pregnancy.