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Buying the Best Pregnancy Test
The US government's National Women's Health Information Center offers an excellent guide to pregnancy tests, with information on the different types of tests, their accuracy and factors that can affect the results. However, it does not name specific products. Similar introductions are at the WebMD and Mayo Clinic sites. In 2003 Consumer Reports posted the results of tests on 18 brands. It named the First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test It detected hCG at concentrations as low as 6.5 mIU/ml (thousandths of an International Unit per milliliter) - that's almost sensitive enough to detect any pregnancy soon after implantation. Most other kits were far less sensitive - the five least sensitive tests couldn't detect hCG below concentrations of about 100 MIU/ml at their specified reading times. However, when we waited a full 10 minutes before reading the results, seven of the test kits performed much better than they did at the manufacturer's suggested waiting time. Although all the kits were easy to use, First Response and two other tests (Answer Quick & Simple Shape magazine reports on a university study which found that "most over-the-counter home pregnancy tests fail to detect pregnancies in the very earliest stages." In tests of 18 brands the study found that First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test performed best, detecting more than 95% of pregnancies on the first day of a missed menstrual period. Second best, at 80%, was Clearblue Easy Earliest Results Pregnancy Test. The About.com: Pregnancy & Childbirth site has a page Top 7 Pregnancy Tests, although it does not give the appearance of being based on any particular research. The Parents website has a report 10 Home Pregnancy Tests. A very useful source of guidance is the Amazon.com Bestsellers in Pregnancy Tests A rough indication of what consumers regard to be the best pregnancy test can be gauged by looking at four-star and five-star reviews at Amazon.com as a percentage of total customer reviews. In the following list, all products had received at least 15 reviews. 1. Early Detection Pregnancy Tests, by Wondfo 2. 25 Pregnancy Test Strips, by Wondfo (40 reviews) - 85% 3. Early-Detection Pregnancy Tests: Pack of 5 Tests, by Early Pregnancy Tests (58 reviews) 84% 4. Combo Pack of 40 Ovulation Tests and 10 Early Pregnancy Tests, by Early Pregnancy Tests 5. Combo Pack 40 (LH) Ovulation Tests + 10 Early Detection (HCG) Pregnancy Test Strip Pack, by Wondfo (16 reviews) - 75% 6. Combo Pack of 20 Ovulation Tests and 5 Early Pregnancy Tests, by Early Pregnancy Tests Only two other tests received more than 15 reviews, and both fared poorly. * Clearblue Easy Digital Pregnancy Test * e.p.t. Pregnancy Test, Certainty, 3-Count Tests
April 2nd, 2010
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Categories Alternative medicine
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Which is the best pregnancy test? There is no definitive answer. Check out the customer reviews at a site like Amazon.com, and you will quickly see that no test gives perfect results each time, even when used exactly according to instructions. Some people say the best test is the one that gives you the answer you want.
as "the most reliable and sensitive test," and