First, it’s important to understand what a pregnancy blood test is. The blood test is a test that measures the exact amount of pregnancy hormone, or human chorionic gonadotropic in the bloodstream. The hormone typically can be detected in the blood as well as in the urine by ten days after ovulation and one to two days after implantation has taken place. There is not just one, but two different blood tests that can be performed to measure this hormone.

The first is a qualitative pregnancy blood test and this test basically gives your doctor a yes or no answer as to whether you are pregnant or not. This blood test is not unlike what a home pregnancy does as it gives a simple answer as to whether you are pregnant but doesn’t say how much of the hormone is in your body. The second test is called a quantitive blood test and can measure the exact amount of the hCG or pregnancy hormone that is in the blood. This type of test helps a doctor determine what the age of the fetus is and if the pregnancy is developing normally.

The blood test is relatively simple for the pregnant mother. Either in the doctor’s office or in the lab a technician will draw blood from a vein in your forearm or hand. The spot where the blood will be drawn from will be cleaned with an antiseptic and then a tourniquet will be put on your arm to enlarge the vein. A very small needle will then be gently inserted into the vein and the tourniquet will be removed, allowing the blood to flow into the syringe or vial. The blood sample will then be sent to the lab to determine whether there is hCG present in your blood, and how much, if your doctor has requested the quantitive test.

Unless you are attempting to get pregnant, you won’t necessarily hear the results of these tests until your next appointment when your doctor will likely tell you that everything looks good or totally normal. If a test is done too soon, the test could be negative despite the woman actually being pregnant. For this reason, most doctors like to wait until you have missed your period before they test for the hCG hormone. If you are trying very hard to get pregnant and you expect a call when your doctor gets the results back, it could be as short as a few hours or as much as a week before your doctor has the results. The amount of time that it takes for the results to come in really depends on how busy the lab is that has drawn the blood and is running the tests. Try to be patient!

Posted in Pregnancy

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