Could there be anything more intimate than taking a home pregnancy test? And could there be anything more loaded with anticipation, stress and angst? It’s hard to pinpoint another moment in your life that can bring so much change. And that’s exactly why that faint line on a pregnancy test can be so confusing and frustrating. Show
You take the test and watch the line appear…or not. If pregnancy has been elusive, the home pregnancy test (HPT) can be a symbol of the dream that holds all your hope and joy—or all your fears and disappointment. So what about that nebulous faint line—are you or aren’t you pregnant? Digital classes from Motherly Digital classes from Motherly• $15Pregnancy wellnessHow to take the very best care of your changing self through this amazing transformation Enroll now How home pregnancy tests workHPTs generally have two lines. One line is the control line—it is usually darker and indicates that the test is working properly. The second line is the test line that indicates pregnancy by detecting the hormone human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), which is not usually present in your body otherwise. HPTs use antibodies to bind hCG and produce a reaction, which results in the appearance of the test line. The strength of a positive test line depends on the amount of hGC in your urine. Is a faint line on a pregnancy test positive?Any second line on your pregnancy test is considered a positive pregnancy test—even if the test line is so faint, you can barely see it. A faint positive on a pregnancy test is still a positive. In a typical pregnancy, your hCG level doubles every 48 to 72 hours, reaching its peak around week 10, after which levels decrease and then plateau for the remainder of your pregnancy. If the line that appears within a few minutes of taking the test is faint, it usually means that your hCG level is low. This doesn’t always mean your pregnancy is in danger. It could be just because at the time you tested, your hCG level is high enough to trigger the test, but low enough to appear as a faint line. Read more: The surprising history of home pregnancy tests Pictures of a faint line on pregnancy testTaking repeat pregnancy tests each day before you hit the 10-week gestation mark might mean the line gets darker over time as hCG levels increase. Here’s an example of a faint line on a positive pregnancy test: It’s hard to see that test line, but it’s there! Reasons why you might see a faint line on a pregnancy test
But don’t worry—if you had a dark line before, and now that you have retested (because, well, we have to be sure) and there is a faint line, there could be another explanation for this, other than your hCG levels are dropping because you are having a miscarriage. Another reason for a faint line could be that it is an evaporation line. Natalist• $16Pregnancy TestsClinically proven to be over 99% accurate (when used up to 3 days before your expected period), Natalist’s clear and easy to use pregnancy tests were clearly developed by a team of moms. Their instructions are to the point, the packaging is discreet and beautiful and as the only certified plastic neutral pregnancy test on the market, they take care of Mother Earth as well. (Price is for a box of 4) SHOP Labcorp On Demand• $49Pregnancy Blood TestIf you’re high risk, using fertility treatments or seeking an answer earlier than would show up on a traditional urine test, you may be considering a blood test instead. Through Labcorp On Demand you can access pregnancy blood tests, no doctor visit required. Simply purchase through their website and visit one of their 2,000+ locations around the US (many in Walgreens!) for your sample collection. Easy-to-read results show up online in your Labcorp OnDemand account as soon as possible. (Note that Labcorp does not currently offer locations for sample collection in HI, ME, ND, or VT but if you’re willing to travel for sample collection, you can still purchase!) SHOP Ritual• $39Essential PrenatalRitual’s prenatal is built on an “everything you need, nothing you don’t” philosophy. Each of the delayed-release capsules are easy to absorb and contain just 12 essential nutrients including methylated B vitamins, bioavailable iron and 350 mg of DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that’s necessary for fetal brain and eye development. And since the best vitamins are the ones you’ll actually want to take, these come with a clever citrus tab inside the bottle to make the whole experience even better. Read more about it here. SHOP What is an evaporation line?Evaporation lines happen when the urine that was on the test area starts to dry. The chemical composition of the urine sample changes due to evaporation and the test may start to show a positive line. The pregnancy test looks like it’s positive—there seems to be some sort of a faint line—but it’s actually not a true positive result. An evaporation line rarely has any color to it. It’s more like a faint line where you would expect to see a pink or blue line. And an evaporation line usually doesn’t appear on a test if you look at it during the recommended time frame. Related: 9 early signs of pregnancy (before a positive pregnancy test) For instance, a pregnancy test may tell you to look at the test three minutes after taking it, but not after 10 minutes have passed. It’s important to follow these directions to avoid misreading your pregnancy test. Wanting (or not wanting) to be pregnant can make you really doubt yourself when reading a HPT. Studies have shown that for various reasons, 1 in 4 women can misread line-based pregnancy tests. Related: It’s science: What causes a false positive pregnancy test? One way to avoid any reading errors due to incorrect results is to take a digital test where an optical sensor displays the words “Pregnant” or “Not Pregnant” and eliminates the need for you to interpret the result yourself. Most likely, if you see a positive line on your HPT, even if it’s faint, you are almost certainly pregnant. But if you do see a faint positive and you’re still not sure whether or not you are pregnant, try waiting a day or two to take another test to give your body a chance to build up its hCG. And always use a sample from your first-morning urine, which is more likely to have higher concentrations. And then if you’re still not sure, see your doctor. Sources Butler SA, Khanlian SA, Cole LA. Detection of early pregnancy forms of human chorionic gonadotropin by home pregnancy test devices. Clinical Chemistry. 2001;47(12):2131-6. doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/47.12.2131 Cole LA, Khanlian S, Sutton J et al. Accuracy of home pregnancy tests at the time of missed menses. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2004; 190: 100-103 Gnoth C, Johnson S. Strips of Hope: Accuracy of Home Pregnancy Tests and New Developments. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2014;74(7):661-669. doi:10.1055/s-0034-1368589 Tomlinson C, Marshall J, Ellis JE. Comparison of accuracy and certainty of results of six home pregnancy tests available over-the-counter. Curr Med Res Opin. 2008;24(6):1645-1649. doi:10.1185/03007990802120572 Zegers-Hochschild F, Altieri E, Fabres C, Fernández E, Mackenna A, Orihuela P. Predictive value of human chorionic gonadotrophin in the outcome of early pregnancy after in-vitro fertilization and spontaneous conception. Hum Reprod. 1994;9(8):1550-1555. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.humrep.a138747 Can a faint line be negative?Drinking a lot of liquid before testing can leave you with a faint positive line, or if you're testing early, even a negative result. It may be easy to think a faint line is a false positive, but it's very, very rare to get a false positive result. You can read more about false positive pregnancy test results here.
Why is my positive pregnancy test line so faint?A very faint line on a pregnancy test usually means that implantation has occurred and you're in the early stages of pregnancy. But you'll want to test again a few days or weeks later to see if that line has become thicker and darker, meaning your pregnancy is progressing — and you can safely start getting excited!
What is a ghost line on a pregnancy test?An evaporation line is a line that appears in the results window of a pregnancy test as the urine dries. It can leave a faint, colorless line. If you're not familiar with evaporation lines, you might see this line and think you're pregnant.
Is it still positive if the line is faint?Rapid antigen or lateral flow tests can help to identify when someone with COVID-19 is most infectious, but even a faint line should be treated as a positive result.
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Faint line on rapid response pregnancy test
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