Since urine is more concentrated in the morning, a test taken then is more likely to produce a positive result than one taken later in the day. Still, most urine tests will be positive by one to two days after a missed period.
In general, the best time is when you have your first morning pee. However, some pregnancy tests are sensitive enough to detect HCG no matter what time of day you take the test.
The time of day you take a pregnancy test does matter to a certain extent. You're more likely to get an accurate result if you take the test in the morning.2 This is especially true if your period is not yet late, or if your period is only a couple days late.
Unless you get up in the night to pee often (or you drink water throughout the night), levels of hCG will be strongest with first-morning urine and you're more likely to get a positive result if you're pregnant.
Levels of hCG will be strongest with first morning urine — more concentrated urine guarantees a more accurate test. Your test will still be valid if it's the afternoon or you've already had water, but first morning urine will result in a stronger results line.
However, you don't need to stress too much about taking a pregnancy test at a specific time of day. Using urine later on when it's less concentrated may only “hypothetically delay a positive result by only 12 to 24 hours,” advises Dr. Flanagan.
Use First-Morning Urine
This makes it more likely to get an accurate test reading. 1 If you're worried you'll forget to collect it when you first get up, close the lid to your toilet and set the pregnancy test on top. Some say that if you hold your urine for more than four hours it is the same as first-morning urine.
Can Too Much Pee on a Pregnancy Test Make It Negative? Urinating too much on a urine pregnancy test should not cause a false negative result. But diluted urine, or urine with a higher water content, can impact a pregnancy test by skewing results.
It's possible to get a negative pregnancy test result followed by a positive result, especially if you tested early. This is because hCG levels rise rapidly in the first few days after implantation. It's also possible to get a positive test result followed by a negative result.
Don't Drink A Lot Of Water Before Taking The Test
Diluted urine tends to also have diluted hCG levels which can skew the test results. Take a test when you naturally need to pee. This way, you'll avoid diluting your hCG level and getting a false 'Not Pregnant' result.
Day by day, the measure of the hormone increases. However, there would only be a slight increase during the first three days after implantation. A rapid increase in the hCG levels is noticed after almost 6 days. From day 9 to day 12, the hCG levels are supposed to be at their peak.
Week 4 of pregnancy
For example, a fertilised egg may have implanted in your womb just 2 weeks ago, but if the first day of your last period was 4 weeks ago, this means you're officially four weeks pregnant! Pregnancy normally lasts from 37 weeks to 42 weeks from the first day of your last period.
Not unless you are testing early. Otherwise your test should detect hCG any time of day if you are pregnant. However, if you're taking a pregnancy test before your missed period, it's better to test first thing in the morning when concentrations of hCG are the highest.
Also, if you're testing very early, your test may only detect hCG in your urine in the morning when it's most concentrated. This is also why it's important not to drink too much water before using a home pregnancy test, as this can dilute your hCG levels as well.
You also may get a false-positive if you take a pregnancy test soon after taking fertility medicine that contains HCG . Problems with the ovaries and menopause also might lead to a false-positive test result.
Test too early and the amount of hCG in your urine isn't detectable. As many as 9 out of 15 women will get a false negative until seven or eight weeks of pregnancy.
Should I dip my home pregnancy test in urine, or pee on it? Most tests allow you to either place the absorbent tip in your urine stream for (usually) five seconds or dip the tip in a collected urine sample for five to 20 seconds. Accuracy is not dependent on the method as long as you follow the instructions.
Place the absorbent tip in your urine stream for 5 seconds. Or, if you prefer, dip into a urine sample collected in a clean, dry container for 5 or 20 seconds, depending on the test you're using.
This is typically done one of two ways: by placing the tip of the test into your urine stream for five seconds while you urinate, or by peeing into a cup and dipping the tip of the test device into the collected urine for five seconds.
Reading the test too soon
But if you don't wait the amount of time specified in the instructions, you are more likely to get a false answer. While you might believe that this would be a false negative, sometimes it can be a false positive because the pregnancy test window may look darker as the test is still working.
Evaporation Lines
The easiest way to differentiate between a positive test result and evaporation line is to check your test within the allotted time. A true positive will appear within two to 10 minutes, while urine won't dry and form streaks until some time later.
Many at-home pregnancy tests suggest reading the results within two, five, or up to 10 minutes after urinating on the stick. Checking results after that window means your urine has dried up, potentially causing that streaky evap line.
After 10 minutes any change in your result should be disregarded. My test says I'm not pregnant. What should I do? You may not be pregnant, or the level of pregnancy hormone may not yet be high enough to be detected, or you may have miscalculated the day of your expected period.