All the reasons why a pregnancy test is negative
The first alarm bell that makes you think you are pregnant is the absence of your period, if you also feel nausea and sore breasts, you really think you are pregnant. You then decide to take a pregnancy test, but it turns out negative. So why do you have all those symptoms? Pregnancy tests are not foolproof and for several reasons could give an incorrect answer. Let's try to understand what happens.
Before continuing reading, find out in the video below how to calculate fertile days and increase the probability of becoming a mother!
Why is the pregnancy test negative?
The pregnancy test works by detecting the beta-HCG hormone (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin), present in the woman's body only during pregnancy and starting from 7/10 days after conception. Therefore, the first reason why the test is negative goes researched in the fact that it found no traces of this hormone in your urine. There are two possible scenarios at this point: you are not pregnant, or you took the test too early and it was not possible to detect the beta-HCG values that were still too low.
Sometimes pregnancy tests show a negative result if:
- they are not sensitive enough
- the concentration of beta-HCG in the urine was not enough (better do the test with the first urine in the morning)
- your urine is too diluted because you may have drunk too much fluids
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Negative pregnancy test and no menstrual cycle
If your period is late, you have taken the pregnancy test and it came back negative, it is possible that you are not pregnant and that your period for various reasons (stress or illness) is slow in coming. Often, the most common reasons why the menstrual cycle skips, does not immediately come to mind. Here are some of them:
- You are breastfeeding
- You've been sick
- You have irregular menstrual cycles (for example due to polycystic ovary syndrome)
- You just got back from a trip
- You haven't slept enough
- You have been subjected to very intense stress
- You're taking fertility drugs
- You haven't had a period for a few months
- You are in menopause or premenopausal
In all these cases the best thing to do is to consult your doctor and explain the situation to him, after a thorough visit he will be able to give you the right therapy. Remember: sometimes, it's just a matter of time.
You are pregnant but the test is negative: it can happen
As we mentioned before, the negative pregnancy test does not mean that you are not pregnant, it simply was not able to detect the pregnancy hormone (beta-HCG) at the time you did it. Even the most sensitive tests and suitable for early detection, they may fail and not be able to be as accurate.
If you drink long before the test, your urine will be so diluted that it will be impossible for even the most accurate pregnancy test to detect beta-HCG. The best time for testing is in the morning, when the hormone is much more concentrated in the urine.
Another reason why the pregnancy test is negative could be the expiration date: if it has expired it will not be reliable at all. Or again, if you have stored it badly and therefore in a temperature range not between 2 and 30 ° C, it will very likely return a false negative.
Finally, the negative pregnancy test is also typical of the rare cases in which the gestation is ectopic.
If the test persists in giving you a negative result, but you still think you are pregnant, do another one on the day you plan to have your period. If the day your period was due has already passed, repeat the test after three days. Either way, the best thing to do is see your doctor.
Other reasons that affect the negative pregnancy test
We all associate a delay in menstruation first with the fact that we may be pregnant. An unprotected relationship or the desire to have a child lead us to convince ourselves more and more that we are expecting a child. Often, however, the reasons why the menstrual cycle is delayed are other, some we have already seen, but there is still something to say.
The length of the menstrual cycle can vary, ovulation is not always the same: it can come early or late and up to 7 days is considered normal. The alarm should go off after 7 days, and it could be a good time to carry out the pregnancy test.
In case you have recently had a baby and you are breastfeeding it is normal for your menstrual cycle to be absent, it will return when you stop breastfeeding and in any case it could be irregular.
Are you over 45 and have an irregular cycle? It could be a prelude to menopause, however it is always a good idea to take a pregnancy test.
Do you take the contraceptive pill? It also affects your period, especially in the first few months you start taking it. You will then see that your body will recalibrate and your periods will return on time.
If your period does not come, and the pregnancy test is negative, before you think it is wrong, try to look for the cause in other factors. One of them is excessive weight gain, or sudden weight loss. In these cases, menstruation can disappear even for several months in a row.Get advice from a specialist.
How to properly perform a pregnancy test
It may sound trivial, but pregnancy tests can be negative even if they are done incorrectly. First of all, it is useful to carefully read the instructions inside the package. Furthermore, some tests are easy to read and interpret, which is not the case for others.
Above all, visual tests, which use simple lines to provide the result, can be misinterpreted: usually a single line means that the result is negative; on the contrary, two parallel lines affirm the beginning of the pregnancy.
Thankfully, the newest and most modern pregnancy tests come with a display that clearly reads in letters: PREGNANT or NOT PREGNANT.
If you perform the test poorly, quickly or do not follow the instructions, you may get a false negative result.
Finally, if you get a negative result, but are not convinced and continue to have obvious symptoms, see your doctor who will prescribe a blood sample that can detect beta-hCG.
Are there any tests with a false positive result?
The question that remains is only one: we talked about a false negative test result, but can the opposite happen? That is, can the test give a false positive result? Yes, it can happen but in rare cases. First of all, if the test has expired or you performed it poorly, also a false positive can be a sign that should not be underestimated for liver disease or ovarian cysts.
It can also happen that conception has occurred, but the actual pregnancy has not begun due to spontaneous abortion, in this case the test result is not to be considered completely false.
