Monday, February 18, 2008

A Pregnancy Blood Test or the Home Variety

If you feel you may have become pregnant or indeed feeling or seeing the early signs of pregnancy, you will want to ascertain definitively whether you are pregnant or not. This will enable you to start your planning and seeking professional pre-natal care at the earliest opportunity. Either a pregnancy blood test or a home pregnancy kit will determine this for you.

To ascertain pregnancy, both types of test will look for the pregnancy hormone HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotpopin). The home pregnancy test will look for this in the urine whereas the pregnancy blood test will check for this in your blood. So, to determine your condition, either will provide the results you seek.

The pregnancy blood test is the preferred method of testing for pregnancy clinics and doctors. This is because, apart from ascertaining pregnancy or otherwise, far more data can be established from a blood serum test.

Benefits of a Pregnancy Blood Test

The pregnancy blood test falls into two categories; qualitative and quantitative. The former is just like the home pregnancy tests in that it will be looking for traces of HCG and will provide a yes or no answer.

The quantitative pregnancy blood test will measure the amount of HCG in the body. This test is not just taken once but at certain strategic times during early pregnancy. HCG levels are predictable at differing times of the pregnancy and following these tests, comparisons can be made to the test results which will help professionals assess a normal and healthy pregnancy or otherwise. This type of pregnancy blood test will normally also be requested by your doctor if problems with the pregnancy are being experienced.

Even if you have determined that you are pregnant by using a home pregnancy test, it is very important to see your doctor as early as possible to not only confirm the home test but to ensure, using blood pregnancy tests, that your pregnancy is healthy and safe.

To learn more visit
http://birthdefectcauses.blogspot.com
http://www.pregnancy-guidelines.com

The Early Signs Of Pregnancy

Signs of pregnancy differ from women to women. Some women may experience early signs of pregnancy within days of conceiving while other might experience the signs much later. There is nothing wrong with experiencing early signs of pregnancy right away or later.The most common early sign of pregnancy is missing the menstrual period. This is when most women go for a pregnancy test to determine whether they have conceived or not. However, many women bleed while they are pregnant and this bleeding is generally lighter and for a shorter duration than the normal periods.Another early sign of pregnancy is the implantation bleeding. This happens when the embryo implants itself on the uterine wall after fertilization has taken place. Implantation bleeding is generally pink in color and it is not bleeding per se. It is spotting and is accompanied by cramps.Some women complain of frequent urination and this occurs even before they miss their periods. Usually frequent urination happens because of the changes in hormone levels. Many women also check their body temperature to determine whether they are pregnant. An increase in body temperature is an early sign of pregnancy.If you experience one or all of the sign listed above, it is time to do a pregnancy test. You can either do the test at home or visit a doctor. Even if your home pregnancy test is negative and you are still having the early signs of pregnancy, make sure you visit a gynecologist to be on the safer side.

To learn more visit
http://birthdefectcauses.blogspot.com
http://www.pregnancy-guidelines.com