How to Pick a Pregnancy Test Kit

Think you might be expecting? An in-home test kit will provide a prompt--and private--answer. These kits detect with 97 percent accuracy whether the "pregnancy" hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hGC), is present in a woman's urine. Most tests work in much the same way, but vary in sensitivity.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Buy an early-response kit to test on or before the first day of your missed period. The First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test is highly rated in consumer trials and gives an accurate result three days before your period is due. However, no test will pick up all pregnancies that early. You can expect a more reliable result a few days or even a week later, when the rapidly increasing hormone level is easier to detect.
2. Read the instructions. Some tests have you pass the stick through the urine stream, while with others you collect urine in a cup, then dip the stick. Many kits allow both and take five minutes or less--but they're the longest minutes of your life!
3. Make sure the result is easy to understand. Any line that appears on the absorbent wick inside the test stick should be strong and clear. If it's not, you'll need to wait a day or two and test again. Twin-packs are cheaper than buying two kits individually.

What to Look For:

• Accuracy
• Ease of use
• Clear, easy-to-understand results

Tips & Warnings

• It's possible to get a false negative result when you're actually pregnant (positive). If your period does not start within a week, test yourself again. If pregnancy symptoms persist despite a second negative test, see your doctor.