Pregnancy test

Among the different pregnancy tests, the most common are the blood test and the pharmacy test. Women opt more for the pharmacy, mainly because of the quick result.

Early discovery of a pregnancy can be important for the health of the baby. This is due to the fact that the first months of pregnancy are extremely delicate and deserve a lot of attention. Hence the importance of carrying out reliable pregnancy tests.

→ What are the main pregnancy tests found?

There are currently two main types of pregnancy test available: the pharmacy test and the blood test. The first type uses urine and can be done quickly by the patient herself. The other test is performed only in the laboratory.

  • Pharmacy test: it is able to detect the presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin ( hCG) in the urine. Composed of two subunits (α and β), hCG (glycoprotein synthesized in the placenta) maintains the corpus luteum, thus ensuring the production of progesterone, which is essential for the maintenance of pregnancy . The test uses anti-hCG antibodies, which react with the hCG in the urine, if the woman is pregnant, and form the band that indicates the result.The pharmacy exam is very quick and, in approximately 5 minutes , it is possible to find out if the woman is pregnant or not. It is worth noting that it may present a false-negative result in the first days of pregnancy, when hormone levels may still be very low.To buy this test, a medical prescription is not necessary, and the values ​​vary between 10 and 50 reais.
  • Blood test: it is based on the same principle as the pharmacy test, which is to identify the presence of β-hCG, and is available in two forms:qualitativeand quantitative. The qualitative only indicates whether or not the hormone is present in the blood, while the quantitative is responsible for identifying the amount of this hormone. The latter is essential to know the gestational age of the woman.It is important to note that this method is the most reliable in detecting a pregnancy and can be done even without a doctor’s request. Normally, there is no recommendation for performing the test, however, this information must be verified in the laboratory before collection.

→ What are the β-hCG values ​​indicative of pregnancy?

A woman who is not pregnant usually has values ​​below 5 mIU/mL . The result is considered indeterminate when the values ​​are between 5 and 50 mIU/mL or positive when they are above 50 mIU/mL

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