Am I pregnant? Five Ways to Find Out

When a woman even suspects she might be pregnant, it seems that all she can think about is “How can I find out for sure?” There are many ways to get answers to that question—some of which are accurate, and some of which may not be as trustworthy. The five most common ways are:

Tracking the Menstrual Cycle

If a woman’s menstrual cycle has been fairly regular, and she misses her “period” once or more often, sitting down in a quiet place, with a good calendar, and concentrating may help her determine approximately when her last period was. If she knows for certain that nothing untoward has happened to cause a missed period (such as illness or extreme stress), then she can assume she might be pregnant.

Women who have been actively trying to get pregnant, and have been charting their fertility cycles will already have a fairly accurate accounting of her menstrual cycles. 

Menstrual Cycle: This article explains how to track your menstrual cycles.

Ovulation Calendar: An ovulation calendar can help a woman track her menstrual cycles.

Tracking Symptoms

Some women do not miss a period, even when they are pregnant, or may have two or more during the first trimester before they end for the duration of the pregnancy. If a woman is still having periods, but is experiencing pregnancy symptoms such as: nausea, fatigue, and tenderness in the breasts are the three usually felt first, she may wish to track these, as well as others to determine if she may be pregnant.

There are other signs and/or symptoms one can be on the look out for. These include: a dark line --- called the “linea nigra” appearing on the abdomen, running straight down from the navel to the top of the pubic area. This can also be a harbinger to stretch marks, so if that sign/symptom is present, now is the time for the woman to start applying lots of moisturizer to the abdomen, hips, breasts, and tops of legs. Other signs include emotional changes due to hormonal changes.

Some women also get “melasma” (also known as “chloasma” or “pregnancy mask”, which is a darkening of the skin on the face. This is quite often a sign/symptom of pregnancy.

Staying Healthy: Some body changes and discomforts during pregnancy.

Emotional Changes: Some emotional changes including physical changes during pregnancy.

Melasma: All about melasma, and why it occurs. 

Taking a Home Pregnancy Test

There are probably as many home pregnancy tests on the market as there are women wondering if they are pregnant at any given time. All of them claim to be the “most accurate” “earliest detector”, and so forth. 

The fact of the matter is that all of them work basically the same way: they measure a specific hormone-- hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) that a woman secretes in her urine when she is pregnant. So, it really doesn’t matter which brand a woman uses, because if the hormone is there, the test will detect it.

Pregnancy: Some information here is presented in a simple question/answer format.

How Do Pregnancy Tests Work?: You can learn how pregnancy tests look, and see pictures of pregnant tummies.

Home Pregnancy Tests: How soon after conception can a test be done?

Having a Urine Test

Some home pregnancy tests claim that the woman can test her urine at any time of the day, and the test results will still read accurately, however, the hormone hCG is at its highest peak in the morning. If a woman really wants a pregnancy test that is as accurate as possible, she should catch her first urine of the day in a clean container, and take it to a clinic or her OB/GYN to be tested.

Urine Testing: The difference between a urine test and a blood test for pregnancy is explained.

Storage of a Urine Test: You can read about how a urine test for pregnancy should actually be collected.

Having a Blood Test

The most accurate pregnancy test of all is the blood test. It still measures the hormone hCG just like the urine test, however, the hormone is detectable earlier in the blood. This allows a woman to not only know for sure that she is pregnant, but to also start taking care of herself—including preventing stretch marks by starting early to add extra moisture to her skin.

Blood Test: The blood test for pregnancy is explained in easy-to-understand detail.

False positives: This article explains why some pregnancy test results are false.

Links to Ten Great Resources on Pregnancy

Educating yourself: This resource explains how and why a woman should be “educating yourself” concerning pregnancy and childbirth.

Healthy baby: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention offers pregnancy tips for a healthy baby.

Prenatal care: Information from MedlinePlus explains the importance of prenatal care.

Kick count: Find out how the baby is doing by learning what a “kick count” is.

Promoting healthy pregnancies: The Health Sciences Department of the University of California, San Diego, presents articles on promoting healthy pregnancies.

Pregnancy Risk Line: A Pregnancy Risk Line staff member will answer questions about pregnancy.

Pregnancy in the workplace: This is a very good article on pregnancy in the workplace.

Teenage pregnancy: Information and statistics on teenage pregnancy can be found here.

Pregnancy Discrimination: See what the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has to say about pregnancy discrimination.

Food pyramid: The USDA provides a food pyramid geared specifically to pregnant women and the importance of nutrition.

Women's Health: Guide to women's health; some changes that will take place and what to do when they occur.

An OB/GYN Study: A very informative study done on pregnant women and the changes both psychologically and mentally to their body.

 

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Disclaimer: The information provided within this site is not meant to be a substitute for a medical doctor's opinion. This site is for informational purposes ONLY. Please check with your medical practitioner before any type of treatment or prevention method is started.