PSC offers urine pregnancy tests performed by licensed health care professionals. These standardized tests utilize the “pregnancy hormone” or hCG in the urine to detect pregnancy.
Soon after fertilization hCG is secreted by the developing embryo. The placenta soon begins to contribute this hormone in an effort to maintain the pregnancy. HCG can normally be detected in the urine or blood after implantation occurs, which is 6 to 12 days after conception. This means it is possible to detect a pregnancy as early as 2-3 days before your first missed period.
Your hCG level must be at least 20 mIU/mL for your test to be positive. Healthy men and non-pregnant women do not have detectable levels of this hormone. In pregnant women this hormone peaks about 8 weeks after the last menstrual period and then declines to a lower level throughout the pregnancy.
Symptoms of pregnancy include:
- Missed period
- Change of appetite: Can last throughout the entire pregnancy
- Nausea/Vomiting: If present, often shows up between 2-8 weeks after conception.
- Frequent urination: Usually noticeable 6-8 weeks after conception.
- Breast tenderness: May begin as early as 1-2 weeks after conception.
Since these are also premenstrual symptoms, if you think you may be pregnant and you have missed a period, you may wish to have our nurse perform a pregnancy test. If so, simply call us for an appointment. You will meet with a Peer Counselor while our nurse performs the test.
While it is best to bring in a first morning urine specimen, in most cases it is not necessary.
All of our appointments are free and confidential.