A urine pregnancy test is a test that measures the amount of the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone present in a sample of urine. HCG is produced during pregnancy and can be detected using a urine pregnancy test beginning approximately ten days after conception.
A urine pregnancy test can be performed using a personal at-home test or by a trained health care professional. In both instances, a chemically treated test stick is exposed to the urine sample. If a certain level of HCG is present, a visible reaction, usually a line or block of color, will show to indicate a positive (pregnant) result. Because the HCG triggers a chemical reaction on the test strip, results are usually visible within 10 minutes. False positives, while not common, are possible with a urine pregnancy test due to certain medical conditions or test procedure errors.
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