What Can Lead To A False Positive Pregnancy Test
- By Reshma Pathare
- 26 Jul 2024
- Verified by Dr Adwoa Agyei-Nkansah
Key highlights or summary
- A false positive pregnancy test occurs when an at-home pregnancy test incorrectly indicates that a woman is pregnant when she is not.
- Early miscarriage, chemical pregnancy, taking fertility medications, recent pregnancy, user error and faulty or expired testing kits can all give a false positive.
- Although the chances of this inaccuracy are very minimal, it can occur and create a lot of confusion and emotional ruckus.
- Taking tests properly and at the right time and interpreting the results within the stipulated time frame will help in getting the correct result.
- Understanding the causes leading to this and confirming the result with a healthcare provider will ensure clarity.
- It benefits one’s emotional health, ensures that proper prenatal care is started at the earliest and rules out other medical conditions at the earliest.
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A false positive pregnancy test result only happens less than 1% of the time. Home pregnancy test kit is 99% accurate, but due to other medical conditions, faulty or expired test kit, user error, incorrect test usage, previous abortions and miscarriages, and some medications may lead to a false-positive pregnancy test result. So it is always good to consult doctors and reconfirm about the result.
With the stressful lifestyle, hormonal imbalance is common among women these days. Stress can alter hormone levels, such as thyroid hormones or estrogen that regulate a woman's period. This causes menstrual irregularity and can interfere with the pregnancy test results.
Stress can also cause nausea and vomiting, heightened sensitivity to smells, breast soreness, fatigue, frequent urination, constipation etc., which can be mistaken as pregnancy symptoms. False positives should be reconfirmed by consulting the doctor.
A false negative pregnancy test is a pregnancy result showing negative pregnancy results when you are pregnant. Taking the pregnancy test too early can cause this state. The hCG levels will be low in the initial days and some test kits may not be able to detect it. To avoid it, it is always better to wait till you miss the period and do the test or consult a doctor and do the blood test.
Pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, is when a person thinks they are pregnant due to psychological and hormonal factors when they are not pregnant. They can feel its symptoms such as -Interruption of the menstrual period, swollen belly, enlarged and tender breasts, changes in the nipples, and possibly milk production, feeling of fetal movements, nausea and vomiting, and weight gain. A pelvic exam and abdominal ultrasound can identify the false pregnancy and no actual baby is growing in the uterus.
There is a high chance of getting a false positive pregnancy test if you are using a faulty or expired test kit. Even after complying with all the requirements and doing the tests properly, the result is invalid (the test has not worked) if no red line appears in the control window (C), even if a line appears in the test window (T). Discard the test and repeat the test with a new kit to get the correct results.
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