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Taking a pregnancy test, too soon after conception can, obviously, lead to inaccurate results. The most accurate results, for a pregnancy test, will not be attained until your period due date has passed. Every pregnancy test, on the market today, is likely to give you the most accurate results after this time. We know that waiting is hard and you definitely want an answer as soon a possible. If you do test before your period is due, don’t take a negative as absolute truth that you are not pregnant. You can’t discount pregnancy until you get your period, so there is always hope, up until that point.

One important thing to understand is that every woman’s body is different. The timing of detecting pregnancy can, therefore, vary greatly from one woman to the next. It can about 7 to 10 days, after conception, before the fertilized egg actually implants in the uterus, and the hormone hCG (Human Chorionnic Gonadotropin) starts to increase.

It is important to understand how a pregnancy test works. A pregnancy test will measure the amount of hCG that is in your system. As your pregnancy progresses, the concentration of hCG in your system will increase. At about 10 days past ovulation, the average woman has an hCG measurement of right around 25 mIU. This amount doubles to 50 mIU at 12 days past ovulation, and then doubles again to 100 mIU at around two weeks past ovulation. Different brands of pregnancy tests have different levels of sensitivity. Using a pregnancy test that detects hCG at 100 mIU will not indicate that you that you are pregnant if your level of hCG is only 75 mIU.