When you’re trying to conceive, shopping for pregnancy tests is exciting but can also cause a bit of worry. With so many on the market, how does Unii’s expert obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr. Shree Datta, think women should go about choosing the right test? Plus, how much should we be spending on them? And how many should we be doing? Dr. Shree explained it all to Unii Babies host Dr. Saranya in a recent episode.

“Well, I think the first thing to think about is the timing of doing pregnancy tests, and that relates to your menstrual cycle, whether that's regular or not, because you could do the best pregnancy test in the world. But if it's too early, it's too early, right? So generally speaking, urine pregnancy tests are sensitive enough to detect pregnancy from three weeks onwards at the earliest. “

“And then going to a reputable shop, which has a reputation for selling products of good quality, would be my mainstay. I don't endorse any specific brands or companies, but really looking at something called the sensitivity and the specificity of those urine tests is particularly important. So read the label. Don't just go into Amazon and get the first thing you can find. And actually, pregnancy tests aren't or shouldn't be so expensive. You should be able to choose from a range of different options, as we do for anything on the supermarket shelves or the pharmacy shelves, and have the reassurance that it is a good enough standard test.”

All good so far, but what if the line isn’t clear?

“Now if you're not sure about the answer, because actually pregnancy tests do require interpretation, then you can always repeat the tests, and it just depends on the type of test that you buy. You could buy a single-use test, or you can buy a multi-box of different sticks that you can dip the urine in and make sure that you're dipping enough urine.”

“And the right type of urine could be the first catch. For example, once you've woken up in the morning, leave it for the right amount of time. And if you're not sure if you were interpreting it correctly. There are some YouTube videos out there that can be quite useful. And again, if you're not sure if the answer is correct, simply repeat the test.”

“That's the best way of doing things. On occasion, we as doctors do request blood tests where we're really not sure what's going on. And you've got to remember that pregnancy tests are not necessarily just specific for pregnancy. So even if someone's not pregnant, the hormones that are detected can still be raised for other causes. So that's one caveat that you need to be aware of.”

And there you have it. Learn more about conceiving a baby and how to have a healthy pregnancy from Dr. Shree’s Preconception and Pregnancy Journey video courses.

Unii Babies is created and owned by London-based family wellbeing educational platform Unii.com, which offers hundreds of episodes of expert-led video courses and a library of medically reviewed articles devoted to improving both baby and child health and your parenting journey. We can also have your parenting questions expertly answered. Contact us with what you want to know, and you may see one of our experts discuss it on our podcast or Unii.com: Because Family Matters.

This podcast is for reference and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific medical advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking or deciding not to take any action.

Dr. Shree: "I’m a Gynaecologist and THIS is How to Choose a Pregnancy Test."

Dr. Shree: "I’m a Gynaecologist and THIS is How to Choose a Pregnancy Test."