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Pregnancy tests have been around for centuries. From ancient Egyptian women urinating on barley or wheat seeds to injecting mice with the urine of possibly pregnant women in the ‘30s, there have been a few outlandish ways to test pregnancies. Thanks to modern science, though, pee-on-a-stick and blood sample-based pregnancy tests were finally invented.
While a store-bought pregnancy claims to be 99 percent accurate, the most accurate way to ensure the pregnancy is a clinical blood test. If you’re store-bought pregnancy kit indicates that you are pregnant, you should visit your gynecologist or an obstetrician right away. And if you are pregnant, it is necessary that you receive regular prenatal care for a healthy and safe delivery. However, if you are curious about a DIY pregnancy kit and want to experiment with a toothpaste pregnancy test, it is quite a simple procedure. But, how does the toothpaste pregnancy test work? How is it done? We will answer it right away!
How Does the Toothpaste Pregnancy Test Work?
This DIY toothpaste pregnancy test is quite straightforward and doesn’t need a lot of preparation. It involves putting a few drops of urine, some white toothpaste, a container to mix the two, and a few minutes of your time. Now, this is what you need to do:
- Take any toothpaste, usually, the one you use will do the trick.
- Squeeze a good amount of toothpaste in an empty container.
- Take a urine sample in a different cup and pour the sample into the container with the toothpaste.
- Check if the mixture changes in color or foams.
Those in favor of this DIY method believe that the combo can cause a chemical reaction in the form of a change in color or fizz which indicates that the user is pregnant. They also believe that the toothpaste pregnancy test works the same as a regular home pregnancy test that detects the pregnancy hormone in the urine quite efficiently.
The pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is produced by a woman’s body only when she is pregnant. This hormone also causes early signs of pregnancy such as nausea and vomiting. As per proponents, the homemade pregnancy test with toothpaste is meant to detect the pregnancy hormone. However, the combination of urine and toothpaste causes a reaction due to the acidic nature of urine and not the hCG hormone present in the urine.
What do Toothpaste Pregnancy Test Positive Results Look Like?
According to believers of this DIY test, if someone is pregnant, the toothpaste will either turn blue or begin to foam. However, this is not accurate as the uric acid in the urine can also cause the toothpaste can also cause the foam.
What do Toothpaste Pregnancy Test Negative Results Look Like?
If someone is not pregnant then the toothpaste will simply not turn blue or foam. But remember, due to the uric acid the mixture can foam either way. This is why it is highly advisable to use a store-bought pregnancy test kit instead of using this DIY option.
The store-bought pregnancy test kit can detect the hCG hormone in the urine after six to twelve days of fertilization. But, for more accurate results, you must wait till 19 days after fertilization or after a day of your expected period.
In early pregnancy, the hCG hormone levels are low, but as the pregnancy progresses, the hCG levels increase. Several pregnancy tests claim to be 99 percent accurate. After confirming the pregnancy with a home pregnancy test kit, you can visit your OB/GYN’s office for a blood test, which is 100 percent accurate and reports tell you whether you are pregnant.
Alternative Options of Homemade Pregnancy Test with Toothpaste
Now that we have already established that toothpaste pregnancy test results are most likely to be completely inaccurate, you can opt for more accurate and trustworthy alternatives.
1. OTC Home Pregnancy Tests
If you are uncertain about your pregnancy, a good way to ascertain it is by using a home pregnancy kit. It is the fastest, cheapest, and at the same time, highly accurate way to confirm whether you are pregnant or not. These kits are available at your local drugstore, grocery store, or even online. They are specifically designed to identify hCG hormone and rarely fail.
There are two ways to use this kit. You can either urinate on the stick or you can urinate in a cup and then pour it on the stick separately. Either way, you will need to wait for a few minutes to get the results. These tests claim to be 99 percent accurate but they can sometimes result in either a false negative or a false positive.
Make sure that you are not testing too early or your urine is not too diluted to avoid a false negative. Therefore, you should not perform the test until at least 1 week after a missed period. Also, to prevent the urine from dilution, it is recommended to take the test first thing in the morning when the urine has the highest concentration of hCG hormones.
2. Doctor-Administered Pregnancy Test
If you get a positive result from your store-bought pregnancy kit, you can proceed ahead to make a doctor’s appointment to further confirm the results. Nevertheless, if your test results are negative even then you should consult your physician at least after a week of missing your period if you are uncertain about your pregnancy. The doctor will either use urine or a blood sample to determine if you are pregnant or not.
For a urine-based test, the doctor will take a urine sample and send it to the lab to check for the hCG hormone. Similarly, for the blood test, the doctor will send your blood sample to the lab to confirm the presence of the pregnancy hormone.
3. Free or Low-cost Pregnancy Tests
If you don’t have access to a doctor or don’t have health insurance, you can take a pregnancy test free of cost or at a very low cost at your community health clinic or a local planned parenthood health center. While some tests may not be as cost-effective due to the usage of advanced technology such as digital readings, basic tests are pocket-friendly and work on the same principles of hormone reading. You can also find inexpensive tests at a dollar store or an online store.
When to See a Doctor?
If you suspect that you are pregnant then you must visit your doctor. It is important because if you wish to remain pregnant then eliminating prenatal care complications is the key. There are a few symptoms that indicate pregnancy such as:
- Vaginal bleeding
- Abdominal pain
- Tender breasts
- Irregular menstruation
How to Get Best Results From the Toothpaste Pregnancy Test
Despite everything, if you still choose to take the toothpaste pregnancy test, this is how you could get the best results from it. The first thing to ensure is cleanliness and quality. Both these aspects could greatly affect the outcome. The toothpaste must be white and of high quality as a plain white toothpaste shows better color change and a good quality toothpaste will react with the hormones in a better way. The cup and stirrer must be clean as well since maintaining cleanliness decrease the chance of a false negative as there aren’t foreign substances in the cup.
Also, regardless of the test type, alwats take the urine sample in the morning as it has the most hCG hormone if you are pregnant.
What Does the Research Say?
On a completely scientific basis, homemade pregnancy tests including the toothpaste pregnancy tests are not accurate or reliable. There isn’t research done that proves homemade pregnancy tests work. These tests are based on anecdotal evidence only.
Toothpaste Pregnancy Test Final Conclusion
While a simple homemade pregnancy test with simple ingredients is tempting and cost-effective, a store-bought test kit is much more accurate and trustworthy Homemade pregnancy kits aren’t backed by science and so, should not be heavily relied upom. They may be done as a science experiment but the results must not be taken seriously and certainly don’t take any health-based decisions due to them.
If you are uncertain whether you are pregnant or not, consult with your doctor right away so that you can take a proper pregnancy test and begin prenatal care to avoid complications.
Toothpaste Pregnancy Test FAQs
1) What color does toothpaste change if pregnant?
2) How long does it take for the toothpaste pregnancy test to work?
3) Which toothpaste is best for a toothpaste pregnancy test?
It must be noted, however, DIY pregnancy tests like the toothpaste pregnancy test are not recommended and should not be relied upon as they are not backed by science. Always opt for a science-backed OTC pregnancy test or visit your gynecologist for best results.
