Ask the Expert: OB/GYN: Are there any real differences in home pregnancy tests or is there one type that is more reliable?

Spread the love

Q: Are there any real differences in home pregnancy tests or is there one type that is more reliable? Also, are false positives common?

A: There are no major differences between any brands of home pregnancy tests or the urine pregnancy tests that we use in the office. Quite honestly, even the blood pregnancy tests are not significantly different although we can get better information with the blood test. All pregnancy tests look for the same hormone, called human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg) and most can detect very low levels.

There are not a lot of false positives, but if taken early in your cycle, they can detect “failed” pregnancies or early miscarriages.