Can I Take Pregnancy Test At Night?

Can I Take Pregnancy Test At Night?

Yes, You can… but hear me out before you grab that pregnancy test!

A woman who wants to detect pregnancy finds it very hard to wait. She will be impatient and might ask others about the right time for the pregnancy test.

Everyone will give you one answer and that is to take it in the morning.

Some might tell you to calm down. But history is the witness that nobody calmed down by being told to calm down.

So you’ll keep wondering ‘Can I take the pregnancy test at night?’

All this is new to you and very rarely will anyone tell you why you must avoid taking a pregnancy test at night.

Without knowing the reason behind waiting for best time to take pregnancy test you’ll be in a mess. 

So here is everything you want to know when to take a pregnancy test…

Does Pregnancy Test accuracy depend on The time of day?

The accuracy of a pregnancy test doesn’t depend on the time of taking the pregnancy test. It only depends on the amount of hCG present in your urine.

It is best to wait until the hCG levels cross 25 mIU/mL. After this hCG level is achieved you are considered pregnant. Any woman having less than this concentration of hCG is not medically pregnant.

Pregnancy tests also have a higher accuracy rate after you acquire this hCG level.

You can take a pregnancy test at any time of the day provided your body has enough hCG.

If you are two weeks past the day of the missed period then your hCG levels are way beyond to give false negative pregnancy test.

Doctors recommend waiting for two weeks for best pregnancy test results.

It is your luck if you get a positive pregnancy test before the missed period. It is most likely to be true.

False positive pregnancy tests are rarely an occurrence. This is natural as there are very few substances that can mimic the effect of hCG on a pregnancy test.

Early pregnancy tests are more accurate. This is so as they can detect lower levels of hCG. This makes it possible to take the pregnancy test at night.

Pregnancy Test at night or morning?

Most people advise you to take the pregnancy test early morning.

The reason behind this is that your body concentrates the urine overnight. When you don’t pass out the urine your body concentrates it.

By concentrating it implies that your body reabsorbs the water from urine. The solutes remain in a lesser volume.

The pregnancy test has to detect the hCG particles from urine. The more concentrated the sample of urine the easier it is to detect hCG.

Taking pregnancy test at morning ensures that even at early pregnancy stage your urine is rich in hCG. An early morning urine sample will always have a higher concentration of hCG.

Can I Take Pregnancy Test At Night?

You can take a pregnancy test at any time of the day.

If you store the early morning urine sample then you can take the pregnancy test in afternoon or evening also.

But a fresh sample of urine is better than a stored urine sample. It is more effective if you have it immediately.

If you want to take the pregnancy test at night with a fresh sample of urine then do not go to the washroom for a few hours.

When your bladder feels an unbearable pressure, then take a bottle along and collect that urine.

This is also a concentrated urine unless you had a lot of water. Drinking water before the pregnancy test can dilute the urine sample.

Another problem with pregnancy test at night is that you may have had caffeinated products during the day. When you get up in the morning you are fasting for about 6-7 hours.

This can rarely be the case when you are awake. We keep popping things in our mouth all the time. Caffeine is a diuretic. You will go to urinate often after consuming it. This way you will be losing out on the hCG in your body. Also, coffee is not the only source of caffeine. Chocolates and soft drinks too have caffeine.

After taking the pregnancy test at night you’ll have to do a lot of guesswork. If you don’t get the desired results of pregnancy test then you have no option than waiting until morning.

It is best to take the pregnancy test at morning hours. If you still have some issues and want to take the pregnancy test at night then use stored early morning urine.

Women who want to take a pregnancy test at night with a fresh sample need to wait. You will have to wait for at least two weeks after the missed period to be sure that the pregnancy test at night is accurate.

This is the time when most women have enough hCG for the pregnancy test.

A pregnancy test is sensitive for a particular concentration of hCG. You can check this if they write it on their pack.

Most pregnancy tests are 99% accurate after the day of the missed period. Testing before the day of the missed period at night makes getting false results most likely.

You can never be sure of pregnancy test accuracy at that time. Most pregnancy tests have only 54% accuracy before a missed period day. Testing at night further reduces the accuracy rates.