Can I Use an Ovulation Predictor Kit to Detect Pregnancy?

Many women wonder if they can use an ovulation predictor kit to find out if they are pregnant. Maybe you have some left over from detecting ovulation, and you would like to get some use out of them by using them as a pregnancy test. Here are both the short answer and a detailed explanation.

Short Answers:

Can an ovulation predictor kit detect pregnancy?

Yes. They can detect hCG, which indicates that you are pregnant.

Should I use an ovulation predictor kit to detect pregnancy?

No. You can't rely on the results gotten from an ovulation test.

Explanation

Ovulation predictor kits and pregnancy tests are meant to detect two different hormones. Ovulation predictor kits detect a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH) which occurs right before ovulation. Pregnancy tests detect the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, which is found in urine during pregnancy. Now, the two hormones are very similar, so much so that ovulation predictor kits, which are designed just to detect LH, can also come up positive if you are pregnant. Pregnancy tests, on the other hand, can't detect LH because hCG, which they are designed to detect, has an extra part to it.

Using an ovulation predictor kit as a pregnancy test can unnecessarily excite (or scare) you if a second line shows up. This result does not always mean you are pregnant. LH is always found in women's urine, so at any given time a light second line can show up on an ovulation test. You'd have to look for a line darker than the control line in order to suspect pregnancy. And if the line is dark, it could just be detecting a second surge of LH (which happens in some women). And getting a negative on an ovulation predictor test is not a sure sign that you are not pregnant. Also, they are designed to detect large amounts of LH hormone in your urine, so at the same time they have a high sensitivity threshold towards hCG as well. This means that you would have to be farther along in your pregnancy to get a dark line than you would if you were using a home pregnancy test.

So, the bottom line is, don't depend on an ovulation predictor kit to tell you if you are pregnant or not. If you absolutely can't wait to find out, and all you have in the house is some ovulation test strips, and you want to try them out just for the fun of it, you can try using it. Just don't take the answer you get too seriously. And make sure to test with a real home pregnancy test as soon as you can.

Sources

http://www.peeonastick.com/opkhpt.html

http://www.babymed.com/faq/content.aspx%3F14747