Guide to Home Pregnancy Tests

Odds are, if you are female, you will take a pregnancy test at some point in your life. Whether you are planning a child or not, taking a pregnancy test can be a stressful experience. You get to the store, find the family planning aisle, and then are confronted with 6 shelves of pregnancy tests. Which one should you buy?

There are two types of pregnancy tests; lines and digital. Both test for the same hormone. The only difference is the way in which the test results are presented. Here are the pros and cons for each type of test.

-Regular Home Pregnancy Test (two line tests)

There are two types of regular home pregnancy tests. One will simply show two lines if pregnant one if not. The other kind is a + or - test. This will show a + sign if pregnant and just a single line if negative.

Again, both tests measure the same thing. It is just in the presentation of the results that differ. The pros of these kinds of tests is they tend to be cheaper than digital tests. These tests also will give you early results if you are testing before your missed period. The downside to these tests is what is called evaporation lines. Evaporation lines form when the urine dries over the test strip giving the appearance of a line when there is no pregnancy. These generally occur after the time limit.

-Digital Home Pregnancy Tests (Pregnant/Not Pregnant)

The other type of home pregnancy test is the digital pregnancy test. It will show up with either the word "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant". No interpretation needed. No squinting for faint lines or worrying about evaporation lines. The downside to digital is they tend to measure hormone at a higher level so they are best taken after you miss your period.

It also should be noted that if you remove the digital cartridge from the stick you may notice two lines on the stick. This does not indicate a positive result. These tests do not work the same way as the standard line home pregnancy tests.

Buying a home pregnancy test can be a overwhelming situation. Here are a few things to remember. Expensive doesn't always mean better. Generic versions of tests work just as well. What point in your cycle you are, will determine the type of test you should get. If you have missed your period by over a week or more, you won't need an early result test. Go ahead and grab the digital If you haven't missed a period yet, then you will need to get an early result test.