when is the best time to take an early pregnancy test

If you suspect you may be pregnant, you’ll likely want to know when to take a pregnancy test. Firstly, it’s important to understand how a pregnancy test works, so you can get the most accurate result from the test. From the very beginning of your pregnancy, the fetus produces a hormone called hCG, or, human Chorionic Gondotrophin.

This hormone can be detected in your urine if you are pregnant. The levels of hCG increase as your pregnancy progresses, peaking at around 8-11 weeks, before dropping to a lower level at 12 and 16 weeks. Some pregnancy test kits can detect hCG levels as low as 10 or 25mIU/ml. If you’re pregnant, at 10 days past ovulation (DPO) you may be able to detect around 25mIU. At 12 days past ovulation, you should be able to detect around 50mIU and at 14 days past ovulation, 100mIU.