FALSE POSITIVE PREGNANCY TESTS

You may have confirmed your pregnancy through positive pregnancy tests. But then, before you know it, your regular period arrives and you come to know that you are not. This is the time when all our expectations and dreams come crashing down and we wonder why did the pregnancy tests give a false positive reading? Was it something that you did wrong? Or was it the inefficiency and unreliability of the test itself? However, there may be different reasons depending upon your situation for the wrong reading.

REASONS FOR WRONG RESULT

Although the tests are considered to be almost 99% accurate, there are many reasons that may actually cause positive pregnancy tests to show a wrong result. These may be illustrated as follows:

·         Most of the times, inaccuracy in the kit results occur mainly when the guidelines mentioned on the kit are not followed properly.

·         Many a times, when the result is not checked in the stipulated time, it can have an adverse effect on the final result.  This is because evaporation lines start appearing after around 3 to 4 minutes giving an illusion of positive result to the woman.

·         Many a times, you forget to check the date of expiry on the kit. Using a pregnancy kit which has crossed its expiry date also indicate false results.

·         If your pregnancy test shows a positive sign, you must consult a doctor immediately. Other than the obvious reason of confirming the pregnancy, this is also important as many a times, HCG levels increase due to some sort of cancer such as breast cancer, chorocarcinama, ovarian cancer, and various other forms.

·         Many women undergoing some sort of infertility treatment are given HCG injections. In such cases, she will test positive too though the result would be completely based on the injections given to her.

·         Different types of medications also interfere with the test results. If the urine is contaminated with medicines like phenothiczune or any other protein, it may result in false positive pregnancy tests.

·         Many women double check to ensure themselves of the correctness of the results. This double checking is also the major cause of false results while checking for pregnancy through home pregnancy test.

·         According to statistics, half the pregnancies are lost in the first stage itself. Commonly known as “chemical pregnancies”, these miscarriages are not even known to the woman.  In such cases, the embryo gets planted for a very short duration of time before dying.  Though this is not exactly conceiving, any pregnancy test done during this short duration will show a positive result. The woman concerned may experience bleeding around the time of her regular periods leading her to believe it to be her regular periods.

·         Many a times, the only reason behind wrong results is because the woman takes the test at the wrong time.  Many a times, the pregnancy hormone is produced by some other tissues than placenta, resulting in wrong results in the pregnancy tests.

·         Another corrupting agent to pregnancy tests is the presence of soap or any other types of foreign substance in the bottle used to store the urine. This will interfere with the results of the pregnancy tests, and thus should be avoided carefully.

Conclusion

Thus, you should remember that the test results are not foolproof.  Any type of positive pregnancy tests should be confirmed by the doctor himself. Not only will this put your mind at rest about the authenticity of the results, but will also help you in chalking up a proper plan to take care of your baby in case the pregnancy is confirmed. After all, at the end of the day, that is what is most important.

Summary

If you get positive pregnancy tests while testing, you should immediately consider a doctor to confirm the result and take appropriate care of your unborn baby.