In days past it would often take weeks to get the results of a pregnancy test, after a visit to your doctor. Today, when you start to experience some of the early signs of pregnancy, you can have the answer in minutes.

Home pregnancy tests work much the same way as those carried out by professional labs. Both test for the presence and level of a hormone called hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in blood or urine. Blood samples are considered more reliable, but certainly less pleasant, particularly for home tests. Most of them test urine.

Two criteria chiefly determine the worth of a home pregnancy test: readability and sensitivity.

Readability is partly a subjective issue, though some tests are definitely easier to interpret than others. Some show you a number, others match a color strip against a stated result. Many these days just say 'Pregnant' or 'Not Pregnant' in some form. Which you choose depends largely on personal taste.

The time to get a result is no longer a factor. In fact, if you wait too long to read the results the indicator becomes unreliable. Also, contemporary over-the-counter products from any major manufacturer are reliable. False negatives and false positives aren't completely absent, but they affect fewer than 5% of cases.

One major component of that reliability score lies as much in the two criteria as in the quality of the test. As tests have become more and more sensitive, the level of false positives has a tendency to go up. For example, women who have recently given birth or miscarried may have elevated levels of hCG present even when they are not pregnant. Certain medications can increase the level as well.

As a result, tests which measure low levels can give a misleading result. Keep in mind that no HPT (Home Pregnancy Test) measures pregnancy directly. The only way to do that is to actually examine the implantation of the fertilized egg into the womb, a procedure that (so far) can't be carried out at home. So, an indicator is measured as a proxy and that indicator can be high for other reasons, such as those above.

Some HPTs can measure hCG levels as low as 25 mIU/ml (milli International Units per milliliter). The abbreviated unit after the number is complicated, but not important to the home consumer. Just look at the sensitivity rating of the test and compare. In order to reduce false positives, tests can be designed not to give a 'Pregnant' indication until higher levels are reached. Many measure levels at 50 mIU/ml or even at or above 100 mIU/ml.

But raising those levels to be less sensitive means introducing two potential problems.

One, if the test detects hCG only at higher levels, you have to be pregnant longer before the body builds up to that level. That reduces the value of a home test, many of which are labeled EPT (EARLY Pregnancy Test) for a reason. The other potential problem is closely related. It can introduce false negatives, you really are pregnant, but the test tells you that you're not.

For most women, these issues are not major. A home pregnancy test is a great convenience, but once you get a positive result it should be followed up with another from your physician. Also, many HPTs come with multiple strips. Test once, then test again a week later. If you get the same result, the odds are much higher that the test is valid.

Follow the instructions carefully and you can be confident that the test is telling you the truth, in 95% or more of cases. Those are pretty good odds, all things considered.

If you have some of the early signs of pregnancy, an ept pregnancy test might help to determine whether or not you are pregnant. When a woman suspects she might be pregnant, it is hard to concentrate on anything else until she finds out for sure. An ept early pregnancy test is easy to find, relatively inexpensive to purchase, and accurate enough to give most women peace of mind quickly and privately. Women who have used an ept early pregnancy test can get to the doctor for confirmation early in the pregnancy, and the earlier prenatal care begins, the better the odds of having a healthy pregnancy and baby.

How does the Ept Early Pregnancy Test Work?

The ept early pregnancy test detects a hormone in a woman’s urine that is generally only present during pregnancy. This hormone, called HCG, is released during the implantation process, when the embryo adheres to the uterine wall. HCG levels increase at a rapid rate from the point of implantation throughout the first few weeks of pregnancy. The more HCG in the woman’s system, the easier it is for an ept early pregnancy test to detect the hormone and give the woman a positive result.

Home pregnancy tests that can detect the lowest number of HCG units can generally give the earliest results. The ept early pregnancy test can detect HCG at the 20mIU’s -40mIU’s level. Twenty is generally the most sensitive level, and can therefore be done earlier in the pregnancy. Some women can get an accurate result as early as a few days before the menstrual period is scheduled to begin. If the test is not performed until the day of a missed period, the accuracy rate can be as high as 99%. That is not to say that a woman should not get confirmation from her doctor after performing the ept early pregnancy test. She can however, go in with confidence that her results were probably correct.

When an ept early pregnancy test is conducted, it is best to use a first urine sample in the morning. This will ensure that the highest potential levels of HCG are tested. It should be held under midstream, meaning a small amount of urine should be passed before letting the stream hit the test stick. The test stick includes a control window so that a woman can be confident that the test is working properly.

The ept early pregnancy test can be a valuable tool to help a woman discover that she is pregnant very early in her term. When a pregnancy is confirmed early, prenatal care is started sooner, and a woman can increase her odds of having a trouble-free pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Are you are worrying about possible early signs of pregnancy?  If so, you can rest assured in knowing that you can put your mind at ease with an early pregnancy test. Quite simply, what an early pregnancy test does is it enables you to see whether or not you are pregnant days and often even longer than that of the more standard pregnancy tests.

There are many different types of an early pregnancy test that are available today, and you can generally find them available at any local drugstore. Also, an early pregnancy test may be a bit more expensive as compared to other types of pregnancy tests, but not by much.

What Other Signs Should I Look for?
Besides an early pregnancy test, there are other ways that you can use in order to tell you whether or not you may be and/or are pregnant. Remember that pregnancy symptoms can also vary in their intensity, frequency, and duration, and that the common signs and symptoms are truly only a guideline, as some women may experience more or different signs, while some may experience none at all.

Missing your period is one of the most commonly reported and obvious symptoms of pregnancy, whereas some women might only experience a much lighter period compared to their usual, and many women do not experience any of the other signs and symptoms until after they have missed their period.

Some more early signs if pregnancy is breast tenderness. This is a  common pregnancy symptom, and you may notice this particularly at bedtime or when you are trying to get comfortable and go to sleep, or even when showering, exercising, or getting dressed. The reason that this happens is because when you become pregnant, your body begins preparing your breasts for the act of producing milk and breastfeeding, and so hormones start increasing in your body.

As well, in addition to breast tenderness and swelling, you may also experience soreness in your nipples or they may even darken in color.

Another one of the earliest signs of pregnancy is that of fatigue, and you may notice that you start going to bed sooner, or that it is harder to get out of bed in the morning, and that you generally more tired than normal throughout the duration of the day. This early pregnancy symptom is caused by all of the changes that your body is now going through, plus the fact of the increasing level of hormones in your body.

Another symptom of pregnancy that you may notice is that of more frequent urination, as pregnancy causes extra body fluids to be processed by your kidneys and bladder, and this therefore means more trips to the restroom.