Home pregnancy test kits are usually the first that a woman comes to know of her pregnancy. They are safe, accurate, reliable, easily available, economical and easy to use in the privacy of one’s home.
There are various types of home pregnancy tests most of which require a woman’s urine sample to measure pregnancy hormone levels. Based on this, they tell a woman whether or not she is pregnant. These test kits work by requiring a woman to either pee on a stick or to collect a urine sample and place it on the stick using a dropper.
What are digital pregnancy tests?
Among the many types of home pregnancy tests available there is the digital pregnancy test. Rather than the colored lines that a regular test will display, the digital test has a digital display with the words “pregnant” or “not pregnant” to indicate whether or not a woman is pregnant.
This is meant to ensure that women do not misread or misinterpret their pregnancy test and mixing up what is indicated by which colored line.
How is a digital pregnancy test used?
The same basic pee on a stick mechanism is to be followed for these tests as well. Women are required to hold the test stick in their urine stream for a few seconds. You then have to wait for about 3 minutes (the hourglass symbol or other indication will tell you to wait) and after this time you get your pregnancy test result.
Are digital pregnancy tests accurate?
Manufacturers claim that these pregnancy tests are up to 99% accurate if a woman takes the test on the first day that she misses her period. In fact manufacturers such as Clear Blue, claim that their test may be accurate as many as 5 days before regular pregnancy tests. They claim that even if a woman takes the test 4 days before the date that she would have expected to get her period, she is still likely to get an accurate result.
What is better – regular or digital pregnancy test?
Whether they are digital or the regular kind there is probably little difference in the sensitivity and accuracy of home pregnancy tests kits. Any reliable brand from your drugstore will do the job as well, unless the test is of a more advanced type.
What is probably more important is that you use the test kit as directed on the package and interpret the results correctly. Also make sure the kit is not past its expiration date because that is likely to give you inaccurate results.