When a woman suspects that she may be pregnant, the first thing she may want to do is rush to the grocery store and pick up a pregnancy test. With so many pregnancy tests to choose from, it can be hard to decide which one is the best one, capable of determining pregnancy the soonest. Interpreting test lines can be frustrating, and because of this, many women to turn to digital pregnancy tests as a more accurate way of determining pregnancy. Digital tests may not be as accurate as most women might believe.
Advantages of digital pregnancy tests
Digital pregnancy tests do have many advantages when compared to the traditional two-line pregnancy tests. Digital pregnancy tests display a clear message of “pregnant” or “not pregnant” or sometimes “yes” or “no,” depending on the brand you purchase. This clear message helps take a lot of the guesswork out of interpreting lines and provide a clearer answer with less room for user error. With digital pregnancy tests, a user only has to apply the sample to the test and wait until the screen on the test stops flashing and displays a result.
Digital pregnancy tests may not detect pregnancy as soon as a traditional pregnancy test
Although digital pregnancy tests are much easier to use and offer a more user-friendly experience for consumers, digital pregnancy tests are usually not able to detect pregnancy as early as many traditional pregnancy tests. Digital pregnancy tests may be just as accurate as a traditional pregnancy test further into the pregnancy, however, women who are hoping to detect pregnancy as early as possible may get a negative result on a digital pregnancy test when they are indeed pregnant.
Most digital pregnancy tests are less sensitive
Different brands of pregnancy tests are designed to detect pregnancy and display a positive result when specific amounts of the pregnancy hormone, HCG, are detected in the urine. Different brands of tests are calibrated to detect different amounts of HCG in the urine. Most digital pregnancy tests are calibrated to detect pregnancy at higher amounts, such as the Clearblue Easy Digital pregnancy test that detects pregnancy at HCG levels of 50. Many traditional pregnancy tests display positive results at lower levels, such as the First Response Early Result pregnancy test that detects pregnancy at HCG levels of only 12.5.
Making the choice between digital pregnancy tests and traditional pregnancy tests
If you’re hoping to get a positive result as early as possible, a digital pregnancy test probably isn’t your best bet. If you don’t mind waiting a bit longer, a digital pregnancy test may be a great, clear-cut answer that doesn’t require interpreting pink and blue lines. Whatever you decide, remember that even if the first test you take is negative, you may still be pregnant. If you don’t get your period, try taking another test.
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