ss, mood swings, anxiety, depression, and the like. Well, blame it on PMS. It has become a common joke and a common excuse. But the truth is, womanhood is a variable state that often leaves medical science baffling on how to explain. There are just some questions that even women can’t totally give a definite answer. One of the common ones is “when can you take a pregnancy test?”

The exact onset of pregnancy is really indeterminable. It should be understood that pregnancy doesn’t commence at the time of fertilization or the union of the sperm and egg after sexual intercourse. The female’s mature egg still has to travel from the fallopian tube down to the uterus where it awaits fertilization. The fertilized egg usually takes a few days and sometimes weeks to float around before it will snuggle in a desirable spot in the uterus wall. This is the implantation stage, the first phase of pregnancy. It is during this stage that pregnancy hormones particularly HCG or human chorionic gonadotrophin start to makes it way to the bloodstream. After blood circulation, HCG will then end up in the urine as waste. It can then be concluded that the exact date of pregnancy can’t be pointed easily. But wait! The complexity doesn’t stop there. We will look at each of the varying factors that affect the answer to the frequently-asked question “when can you take a pregnancy test?”

Based on the illustration stated above, one can surmise that after sexual intercourse pregnancy hasn’t really started. Mull over this usual misconception. After copulation, most women wait for about a three to four days to check if they are pregnant. There’s a big possibility that the result they will get is not correct. A egg’s travel through the fallopian tube to the womb may take a few days. Plus, the fertilized egg’s floatation time-frame in the womb have to be considered. All these would take about a few days to weeks before pregnancy takes place.

You might think that the time right after implantation is the appropriate time to take the test. Wrong. When the fertilized egg or embryo has comfortably snuggled on the womb, HCG will then be produced by the placenta and mixes first with the blood. The amount of HCG produced varies among every woman. Furthermore, the amount produced is minimal on the first day and usually doubles on the next. All pregnancy tests has a required threshold of HCG amount before the test taken can give the accurate result. Even pregnancy blood tests can’t present correct results if not taken on the appropriate date. This is still with consideration to the pregnancy hormone’s concentration in the blood. Speaking of pregnancy tests, pregnancy blood tests are more accurate than urine tests as they can detect pregnancy earlier than its urine counterpart. But high HCG sensitivity urine tests are now available in the market and the chances of getting correct results is high compared to the low sensitivity ones. The latter lets you wait for perhaps over a month or after you have missed your period before it can give the correct result. Getting a negative result doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of pregnancy. Follow-up tests should be made.

Those who are fertility charting can make an approximation of 8-10 days after ovulation. To draw accurate results, it is advisable to use the “early morning urine” sample. hCG concentration of urine during this time of the day is higher as the accumulation of the pregnancy hormone is longer. But if the afternoon urine sample is used, make sure that you didn’t take in any fluid as it can dilute hCG concentration level.

There are other less common factors that can affect pregnancy testing. But the most important varying factor that a hopeful woman should possess is knowledge. Know and learn how to use the most effective pregnancy test. Also learn the components of fertility drugs if you’re using one. Sometimes they contain hCG. It might mess up your pregnancy test results.

when can you take a pregnancy test? The answer to this question depends on the woman’s body and mind. Whenever the appropriatetime, between 8-10 days from ovulation, a woman should be knowledgeable enough on how her reproductive system works and the improtance of the pregnancy hormones that the test is reliant upon.