Fertility

When to take a pregnancy test (and how to read it)

3 min read · MyBloomingBelly editorial

Home tests detect hCG, a hormone that appears after the embryo implants — usually 6–12 days after ovulation — and then roughly doubles every two days. Test too early and even a healthy pregnancy can show negative simply because the hormone hasn’t risen yet.

The kindest strategy: wait until the day your period is due. From that day, good home tests are over 99% accurate with first-morning urine, which is the most concentrated.