Best Pregnancy Test - Maternity.com Forums. Your Online Community for Parents and Expecting Parents.

sometimesoon · #1 05-22-2006, 11:10 AM

These days there are so many at home pregnancy tests out there. This all seems a bit confusing to me. Which is the best at home pregnancy test and what exactly should I be looking for??

Thanks,
Sometimesoon

brandi · #2 05-27-2006, 12:55 PM

I read an article from the early show CBS news about this.

Quote:

(CBS) "Is it possible that I'm pregnant?" can be one of the most nerve-wracking questions for a woman to deal with. But with so many pregnancy tests and ovulation kits on the market today, how can you tell which is relaiable?

Consumer Reports senior editor Nancy Metcalf talks about the best pregnancy tests and ovulation kits available. Get the recommendations on Tuesday’s The Early Show.

Pregnancy Tests

Method:
All home pregnancy test kits use monoclonal antibodies to detect a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is produced by the developing placenta beginning on the day on which the embryo implants in the uterine wall. Concentrations of this pregnancy hormone vary widely from woman to woman, but the more sensitive tests can measure lower levels of hCG.

All 18 brands tested by "Consumer Reports" (CR) employ similar technology - most use sticks with absorbent wicks that are held directly in the urine stream, and most allow women to collect urine in a cup and then dip the stick. Regardless of collection method, reading the results is the same for every kit: if a line appears in the window after a specified number of minutes, the test is positive.

Working with an independent laboratory that specializes in hCG studies, CR spiked hCG-free urine with varying concentrations of the hormone "to mimic the range found in normal early pregnancies."

They tested each product at increasing levels of hCG concentration until a positive result was attained.

"We conducted the tests as instructed on each product's package insert," CR says. "Technicians read the results after the specified minimum wait - anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes, depending on the product - and then again at the maximum time allowed (10 minutes in all the products we tested)." Kits were rated on efficacy, ease of use, and ease of result readings.

Performance:
One kit, the First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test, emerged as the most reliable and sensitive test. "It detected hCG at concentrations as low as 6.5 mIU/ml (thousandths of an International Unit per milliliter) - that's almost sensitive enough to detect any pregnancy soon after implantation," CR wrote. "Most other kits were far less sensitive - the five least sensitive tests couldn't detect hCG below concentrations of about 100 MIU/ml at their specified reading times. However, when we waited a full 10 minutes before reading the results, seven of the test kits performed much better than they did at the manufacturer's suggested waiting time."

Although all the kits were "easy to use," First Response and two other tests (Answer Quick & Simple and ClearBlue Easy) produced result lines that were more intense than others at lower concentrations of hCG, making them easiest to read.

In the end, First Response's Early Result Pregnancy test ($18.09/2 tests) came out on top, with an "Excellent" rating (winning an "excellent" score in hCG sensitivity, "good" in ease of reading, and "excellent" in 10-minute hCG sensitivity, with an overall recommendation of "best combination of sensitivity and reliability). Confirm's Pregnancy Test ($11.19/2 tests) scored lowest, with a final score of "Poor" ("fair," hCG sensitivity; "poor," ease of reading; and "fair," 10-minute hCG sensitivity, with some samples failing to work properly).

Ratings

First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test
($18.09 for two)
Consumer Reports Rating: Excellent

Confirm Pregnancy Test
($11.19 for two)
Consumer Reports Rating: Poor

Recommendations:
Although CR calls the First Response test "a superior choice," it warns, "Women need to use home pregnancy test kits with a clear understanding of their limitations."

It explains that testing for hCG is not the same in all women. In 10 percent of pregnant women, the embryo does not implant until after the first day of a missed period (and again, hCG is not produced until the embryo implants in the uterine wall).

"Until implantation, it doesn't matter how sensitive the test is," CR says, "You can't detect the pregnancy before it's producing the stuff that you're measuring, which is hCG."

Even pregnancies that have implanted may produce too little hCG for many at-home tests to detect, especially only a day or two after a missed period and when read after the manufacturer suggested waiting period specified in test packaging.

"Some kits improve in detection when read after a wait of 10 minutes, but waiting longer than that may produce a negative result that looks faintly, misleadingly positive," CR reports.

Moreover, about one-third to one-quarter of pregnancies implant for a short time, then fail. "That leads to a transient rise in hCG, which can extend for as long as two days after the day of the missed menstrual period."

Consumer Reports advises, "If you're comfortable waiting, a sensitive test taken a week after your period is overdue will almost certainly give you accurate results. If you elect to take the test as early as the day after you've missed your period, remember that a negative result isn't 100 percent certain. And a positive result may mean either a viable pregnancy or a pregnancy destined to end shortly after it began. With either of those results, you should plan on testing again a week later, just to be sure."

Ovulation Kits

Method:
When an ovulation kit works correctly, it can reliably indicate the most fertile 24-48 hours in a woman's cycle - the time in which most successful pregnancies are conceived. Of the 11 kits tested by CR, only one proved to be sensitive enough to predict ovulation for nearly 9 out of 10 women, while others fell terribly short of their package promises.

The day of ovulation (when a ripened egg bursts out of its follicle) and the five days preceding it are the fertile window of the female reproductive cycle. The day before and the day of ovulation are the most fertile days; more than 80 percent of viable pregnancies are conceived on those two days.

A hormone called lutenizing hormone (LH) peaks in the blood and urine one to two days before ovulation, at the onset of the most fertile period in the cycle. The length of the LH surge varies from woman to woman, lasting between 10 and 31 hours in about half of women, less than 10 hours in 38 percent, and over 31 hours in 12 percent. Research has proven that LH surge is among the best indicators of ovulation, and the kits that Consumer Reports tested are based on LH measurement.

Ten of the 11 kits tested worked like home pregnancy tests, using monoclonal antibody sensing technology. The user either urinates on an absorbent wick, dips a test wick into a cup of urine, or places a few drops of urine on a cassette.

The result appears as a line in a tiny window. "Since ovulation detection will almost certainly require multiple tests," says CR, "the kits include five or more individual test sticks."

Only one test worked differently: the reusable, electronic ClearPlan Easy Fertility Monitor tests not only for LH surge, but also for a less intense surge of another hormone (estradiol) which precedes the LH surge by about a day (a woman urinates on a wick which is inserted into the device and electronically read; the results are displayed on an LCD screen). It can also store cycle length from up to six previous cycles.

Performance:
In conjunction with an independent lab, Consumer Reports tested each model with urine spiked with various concentrations of LH. Following package instructions, LH concentrations were increased up to the point where a positive reading was obtained. Results were read after the manufacturer specified waiting times (typically 1-3 minutes), and again after 10 minutes, the maximum allowable reading time.

Frighteningly, Consumer Reports found "Though most of the kits are labeled as having 99 percent clinical accuracy, in actual use even the best-performing models are likely to detect LH surges in a considerably lower percentage of women. At their peak, most women's LH surges range from less than 20 to 100 mIU/ml.

The top-rated product, the ClearPlan Easy Ovulation Test Pack, was the only one able to detect LH concentrations as low as 22mIU/ml. It was also easier to read than most other models. But even this product will not detect ovulation in the 12 percent of women whose LH peaks at below that concentration." The costlier ClearPlan Easy Fertility Monitor (the electronic tester) was the second most sensitive model tested, detecting LH concentrations as low as 36 mIU/ml, meaning it may work for about 65 percent of women.

"At the other end of the spectrum," CR says, "we had to spike the test urine with the highest LH concentration we tested - 91 mIU/ml - before we obtained a positive reading from the First Response Pregnancy Planning Kit. Only 20percent to 25percent of women have an LH peak that high. Those results cast doubt on the product's label, which claims it contains enough test sticks 'for 90percent of ovulating women to detect hormone surge.'"

Amazingly, though, that wasn't even the worst-performing test Consumer Reports found. Answer Quick & Simple One-Step Ovulation Test got that dubious honor. "In laboratory tests using urine with an LH concentration of 91 mIU/ml, only one of six tested Answer kits registered positive. When we tested another six samples at a concentration of 96 mIU/ml, we got only two positive readings," CR reports.

In the end, the ClearPlan Easy Ovulation Test Pack ($30.32/5 tests) won, with a borderline "Very Good/Excellent" overall rating (it received an "excellent" for LH sensitivity and was easier to read than most others, but again, it will not detect the LH surge of approximately 12percent of women).

The Answer Quick & Simple One-Step Ovulation Test ($16.89/5 tests) was at the bottom of the list, with an overall rating of "Poor" (the only test that received a "poor" for LH sensitivity, and without a protective cap, it can be messy to use).

Ratings

ClearPlanEasy Ovulation Test Pack
($30.32 for five)
Consumer Reports Rating: Very Good

Answer Quick & Simple One Step Ovulation Test
($16.89 for five)
Consumer Reports Rating: Poor

Recommendations:
Although it recommends the ClearPlan Easy Ovulation Test Pack as the best of the ovulation kits, Consumer Reports advises, "The first thing to consider is whether you need an ovulation test kit at all, since the overwhelming majority of women of childbearing age ovulate reliably and have a six-day fertile period every cycle Most couples are better off just having regular intercourse on their own schedule."

However, if a woman decides she does need to use an ovulation kit and doesn't get a positive result in the first round of testing with one of the more sensitive tests, CR advises, "consider starting your tests a few days earlier in the next cycle and continuing longer. Use two kits if you have to. It may also be helpful to test twice a day rather than once, in case you have a short LH surge. Finally, if after three cycles, the test fails to detect ovulation, you should consult your physician for further evaluation."

Tigriz · #3 05-29-2006, 11:08 AM

Through personal experience, I would recommend the ClearBlue Easy test. We tried for eight months to get pregnant and I got so tired of trying to decide if there was a line or wasn't a line, that on our last try I bought the Clearblue Easy. It popped right up and said PREGNANT!! It was so easy and so wonderful to see!

jaescafe · #4 05-30-2006, 11:24 AM

In my personal experience I have not had any problems. I've always taken the cheap pregnancy test (usually Walmart Equate brand) and never had any problems. My sister on the other hand recently has taken 3 E.P.T tests and they all were the exact same, but none showed absolutely clear results. The horizontal line was dotted, but the vertical line was definitely there. We are pretty sure she's pregnant, but we thought that the horizontal line should be solid to reassure you that you did the test properly. She's going to get another brand of pregnancy test and then go to the dr. anyway.

sometimesoon · #5 05-30-2006, 05:23 PM

Brandi,

Thank you for the helpful information. And thanks to you all for your comments. I think I'll be on the lookout for the clear blue easy when I've noticed I've missed my periods.

Thanks again

jaescafe · #6 06-01-2006, 08:46 AM

I just wanted to update everyone and let you know that my sister took a first response pregnancy test and it was CLEARLY positive (unlike E.P.T). I'm going to be an aunty again. I'm godmother to her older boy who is 17 months, so they'll be about 26 month difference. I'm excited and can't tell any family or friends yet so I just wanted to blab it all over here LOL!!!

#7 06-28-2006, 07:16 AM

This thread has given me an idea of the best pregnancy test to make.
But I was just wondering, how reliable are most pregnancy tests are?
Why aren't they reliable, rather what makes them unreliable or not so good to use?

feline · #8 06-28-2006, 07:17 AM

Sorry but the above post is mine

jaescafe · #9 06-28-2006, 09:52 AM

I don't really know for sure, but I do know that the drs around here seem to think they are very reliable. When I got pregnant the first time they didn't even second guess it. They gave me "the exam" and the very last thing they did was take blood to make sure I was pregnant, I think because it is required. They didn't even ask me to stick around for the results, but I did just to make sure it turned out positive and it was. They did the same thing with my second baby. I thought it was kind of weird. You think they would have you take a pregnancy test the first thing when they see you, but my dr didn't.

Sister · #10 06-28-2006, 03:49 PM

I just used cheap ones from the Dollar Store. I never had a problem with them. Every time they said I was pregnant, they were right.