Home pregnancy tests are used by women all around the world to find out if they are pregnant or not. Most of them are quick and easy to use, as they only need to be dipped in a stream of urine for several seconds. They detect the level of chorionic gonadotropin, which is a hormone produced in the early stages of pregnancy. No matter how good they are, home pregnancy tests are not foolproof. This is exactly because they measure the level of a hormone, which can also be influenced to other conditions apart from pregnancy. If your home pregnancy test comes out positive you need to do a blood test at the doctor to confirm it, as it might be a false positive.Here are the potential causes of a false positive pregnancy test.
Chemical pregnancy
A chemical pregnancy can be the reason of a false positive pregnancy test. This happens when the fertilized egg is unable to implant itself on the uterus or is not able to grow. According to specialists from Viva Eve fibroids treatment clinic, this can be the result of fibroids, scar tissue or an abnormal shape of the uterus.
Most chemical pregnancies are not detected, as they take place very early, so many women don’t even find out about them. A good way to avoid a false positive due to a chemical pregnancy is to take the test one week after the expected start of your period.
Ectopic pregnancies
An ectopic pregnancy takes place when the embryo implants outside the uterus. The fertilized egg can get stuck in the fallopian tube, cervix, ovary or the abdominal cavity. Scar tissue, uterine infections, inflammation of the fallopian tube or a strange shape of the fallopian tube can lead to an ectopic pregnancy.
Ectopic pregnancies are dangerous for the mother, as they can cause a hemorrhage, as the egg is growing outside the uterus and it might break the tissues. The embryo can’t grow, so it must be removed from the woman’s body. But the fertilized egg does produce gonadotropin hormone, which is detected by a false positive home pregnancy test. Ectopic pregnancies are medical emergencies.
An abortion
Right after an abortion or miscarriage you might get a false positive result, because the pregnancy-related hormones, including the gonadotropin, are still present in your body. In pregnancy the level of gonadotropin doubles every two-three days, as the placenta is developing. The highest amount of this hormone in your body is reached around 10 weeks. When the pregnancy comes to an end the level of specific hormones begins to drop, to return to their pre-pregnancy state, but this process is slow.
After an abortion or a miscarriage your body still has high levels of gonadotropin, which remains in your body and urine for up to six weeks after the pregnancy ended.
In the event of a spontaneous miscarriage, a high level of pregnancy hormones can be a sign that not all tissues were eliminated. If this happens, your doctor needs to remove it during a surgical procedure.
