You might already have taken a home pregnancy test, but now your doctor may suggest you do a blood test as well. What specifically is a blood pregnancy test, and how does it deviate from a urine examination?
What is a hemoglobin pregnancy test?
A blood pregnancy test attests to how abundant hCG (or human chorionic gonadotropin) is in your blood. It is the kind of blood pregnancy test that most people talk about blood pregnancy tests. A blood sample of one of your veins is taken to test your blood for hCG by a procedure called venipuncture.
How early can you take a blood pregnancy test?
HCG is a blood test hormone that can be detected during pregnancy around 8 to 10 days after conception. Whether you are using a home germination analysis from your doctor using urine or a blood pregnancy test, the conclusions are based upon measures of that hormone.
What is the difference between blood and urine tests?
Urine examination can be accomplished in two ways and can be arranged at home or in a hospital. One way is to collect your urine in a cup and dip a stick into the urine. Also, you can put urine into an eyedropper in a particular container. Last but not least, another alternative is to put a stick in your urine stream and catch the urine in the center.
How does blood test work?
Unlike urine tests, a blood test is, nevertheless, more delicate and can present more reports than a home urine test. You can have a qualitative hCG test in your blood to measure hCG. The results are evident: Yes, because they found HCG, you’re pregnant, or you’re not pregnant, as they didn’t find it.
Quantitative test results don’t just give your doctor a yes / no result. They provide comparable measurements. In general, your hCG will almost double in early pregnancy every two days.
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By conducting multiple blood tests roughly 48 hours apart, you can trace this hCG quantity and address the pregnancy better. These serial blood examinations can aid your doctor to observe your pregnancy for miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy and the prospect that you bear several babies.
What transpires during a blood pregnancy test?
This test is just like a standard blood test. The punching site, most probably your forearm or your hand’s back, will be cleaned with an antiseptic. To apply pressure, a tourniquet is placed around the upper arm. A needle is then implanted, and the blood is accumulated in an airtight vial or syringe. If your doctor’s office does not have an internal lab, your blood sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis.
When can you expect the results?
Unfortunately, it is impossible to say just how quickly a blood test can reveal pregnancy after intercourse. Because it is impossible to predict precisely how long the design process takes. Sperm can live a couple of days in your body, so your egg can not be fertilized right away. Also, the fertilized egg stays for several days in your Fallopian tube before it moves into the uterus and implant.
A blood test may detect your pregnancy within six days, although it may take 14 days or longer for the test to give an accurate result. It all depends on where you are in your cycle and if you have intercourse.
If the embryo transfer or another process of fertility is performed, the doctor will tell you when to return for a blood test. You usually have to wait about two weeks to get the most precise result. If you test yourself too soon and get a false negative, it can be devastating. Wait until your body has time to produce sufficient hCG to detect.
How accurate are the results?
Blood Pregnancy Tests have a precision rate of 98-99 percent. These analyses can be performed roughly seven days after you ovulate (about one week before your period is due), and can still deliver concrete results.
Read also: Why you should get a blood pregnancy test
As with urine/home pregnancy examinations, inaccurate results (negative and positive) from a blood pregnancy analysis can be achieved.
False-negative results ordinarily transpire when a blood pregnancy test is administered too early. Your negative examination outcome is because the hCG in the blood may not be adequate to distinguish a pregnancy. Your levels of hCG increase very rapidly during early pregnancy.
If you believe you got a false result because you have examined too promptly, and you haven’t got your time, you should repeat the hCG test within 48 to 72 hours.
False-positive results rarely occur. If you are taking a medication containing hCG or because of some medical issues, you may get this result.
Advantages vs Disadvantages
There are several advantages and disadvantages to getting a blood pregnancy test done. Here are some of them:
Benefits of having a blood test done:
- Can detect pregnancy in about 7-12 days from possible design earlier than a urinary examination.
- Can measure hCG hormone levels in your blood (valuable data for your healthcare provider in tracing distinct pregnancy difficulties).
Disadvantages of blood testing:
- More costly than urine testing.
- Conveys longer to get the result.
- You have to do this in a doctor’s office.
What are the potential hazards?
The risk of having a blood pregnancy test is minimal. Just like with every blood test, you are likely to feel faint, or experience flushing at your puncture site and hematoma (blood accumulating under your skin).
Because the size of the vena and arteries varies from human to human, it might be more difficult for some people to obtain a blood sample than for others. To get the blood sample necessary for this test, multiple pricks may be required to locate a vein.
Read also: What is a chorionic villus sampling test
Takeaway
When you try to figure out whether you should take the blood test and what to expect from it, there are many things to consider. It’s more costly and less convenient. You must wait for the laboratory to get results.
However, it is more accurate; the least bit of pregnancy hormone can be detected in your blood and tested sooner than possible by a urine test.
Read also:
- Early Signs of Pregnancy
- How Efficient is Blood Pregnancy Test in Detecting Pregnancy?
- All of the Things you Need to Know About Nut Allergy During Pregnancy
