What Can Affect The Result Of A Pregnancy Test?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-31 10:00

What can affect the result of a pregnancy test?

Do alcoholic drinks affect my pregnancy test result?

The test result will not change if the woman took alcohol the day before. The answer depends solely on the concentration of chorionic gonadotropin in the urine. HCG does not interact at the physical level and does not undergo chemical transformations with alcohol breakdown products. Therefore, an accurate test result will be obtained regardless of whether the woman drank before the study.

There is an exception to this rule - the consumption of beer or other alcoholic drink with a diuretic effect by a pregnant woman often leads to a false negative test result. This is due to a decrease in the concentration of the "pregnancy hormone" in the urine. Therefore, in the case of drinking alcohol with diuretic properties, it is advisable to conduct a study on the next day.

Content:

• Does pyelonephritis affect my pregnancy test result?
• Can cystitis affect pregnancy test results?
• Can a pregnancy test give a positive result with menopause?
• Does lactation affect pregnancy test results?
• If your period goes on during pregnancy, will the test show it?
• What will a pregnancy test show after a miscarriage?

Does pyelonephritis affect my pregnancy test result?

The instructions for use of the test kits contain an indication that kidney disease can affect the reliability of the test results. Pyelonephritis is an inflammatory process that affects the renal pelvis. The opinion that this pathology can somehow affect the test results is incorrect.

The manufacturers of pregnancy tests claim that long-term renal pathologies that have caused renal failure have a negative impact on obtaining a reliable response. Pyelonephritis does not belong to such diseases, therefore the test result in women suffering from this pathology usually corresponds to reality.

Can cystitis affect pregnancy test results?

Inflammation of the bladder can be caused by various types of pathogenic bacteria, most commonly E. coli. It enters the bladder through the urethra from the rectum. This route of transmission of inflammation is explained by the peculiarities of the female anatomy - the proximity of the anus and the entrance to the vagina to the urethra. That is why women are much more likely than men to suffer from inflammation of the bladder.

The urine of a woman with cystitis contains components such as decay products of the bladder epithelium, protein, blood, and pathogenic bacteria. Red blood cells and protein may well affect the accuracy of pregnancy test results, shifting them towards false positive or false negative values.

Can a pregnancy test give a positive result with menopause?

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Yes, a woman can get a false positive pregnancy test during menopause. This is due to various reasons. A slightly elevated level of hCG (chorionic gonadotropin) in the urine of women during menopause is the norm. This figure can reach 14-15 IU / L, while the norm outside pregnancy is 5 IU / L. Highly sensitive tests can determine an increased value already from 10 IU / L, so it is not surprising that they react to hCG in a woman's urine during menopause. In this case, the second strip of the test system will not be bright.

With a pathological reason for a false positive result, the strip will be clearly pronounced.

It can be the result of the following diseases:

• Renal failure of varying degrees;
• Increased secretion of hCG by the pituitary gland in trauma and brain tumors;
• Oncological diseases of the uterus, ovaries, respiratory, digestive and urinary systems.

If you receive a positive pregnancy test result during menopause, in any case, you need to undergo a thorough examination.

Does lactation affect pregnancy test results?

Some women during breastfeeding do not use or use contraceptives, hoping for the contraceptive effect of lactation. This method of contraception can fail and lead to an unplanned pregnancy. Even if menstruation occurs against the background of breastfeeding, the woman does not believe in a positive test result and the unreliability of her method of contraception. Lactation does not affect testing accuracy at all. Here, both a positive and a negative result obtained with the test strips are equally true.

If your period goes on during pregnancy, will the test show it?

Rarely, women who are pregnant may have their periods during the first trimester. Such bleeding does not affect the test result, since the reagents of the test strips react to the concentration of hCG levels in the urine. For a more accurate result, it is recommended to wait until the bleeding ends.

What will a pregnancy test show after a miscarriage?

The system can show a positive test result 4-30 days after an unplanned abortion. This is due to the fact that an increased concentration of hCG remains in the woman's blood for some time after a miscarriage. "The main hormone of pregnancy" is produced by the membrane of the ovum, and then by the placenta during the entire gestational period. Test strips of any type respond to high levels of hCG in the urine.

Even after spontaneous abortion of pregnancy, chorionic gonadotropin continues to remain in the woman's blood, reducing its concentration over 30 days to the usual level. The longer the term of the terminated pregnancy was, the longer this process will take place, since the production of hCG in the body of a pregnant woman is constantly increasing.

The author of the article: Lapikova Valentina Vladimirovna | Gynecologist, reproductologist

Education: Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology received at the Russian State Medical University of the Federal Agency for Healthcare and Social Development (2010). In 2013 completed postgraduate studies at N. N. N. I. Pirogova.