5 surprising reasons you can see false positives on the pregnancy test

When you are trying to conceive (or you happen to miss a period), taking a pregnancy test can be one of the ways to reassure yourself and confirm your doubts.

However, not all pregnancy tests are 100% foolproof.

Wondering why this happens?
It can be quite possible for you to see a false reading on your test, even if rare. A false positive reading, when the test says you are pregnant, even when you aren’t can be a pretty stressful (or temporarily joyous) moment for women. Here are five reasons this can happen:

1. If you had a miscarriage recently
Miscarriages are hard and it can take time for your body to readjust back to the pre-pregnancy hormone levels. In doing so, seeing a false positive sign on the pregnancy test can happen and worry women. In the same way, women who undergo an abortion can also see many false positives, as long as six weeks after the procedure.

2. Ectopic pregnancy
A pregnancy is said to be ectopic when the egg fertilizes or gets implanted outside the uterus, in the reproductive system. While ectopic pregnancies aren’t viable, they can impact your pregnancy hormone levels very early on and make the test read a false positive. If you feel any signs of an ectopic pregnancy, you should rush to the doctor as soon as possible and get checked.

3. You are on fertility medicines
Women who are on fertility medicines are often prescribed hormone-releasing drugs which affect the egg supply or force the pregnancy test to read out false positives. Certain other medications, such as antipsychotic drugs and anti-anxiety medications can also mess with the results.

4. You took the test too early
Usually, a missed period is the first signal for you to take a pregnancy test. However, experts say that one should always wait for a stipulated period of time before taking a test. For one, it is advised that you read the instructions on the pregnancy test and follow the same to see the accurate results. Secondly, even though testing early on is tempting, early results can detect the important HcG hormone incorrectly and give negative results.

5. Underlying medical conditions to be blamed?
Sometimes, chronic infections and medical conditions can also hamper your hormonal functioning and make you prone to see a false result when you take a pregnancy test. While there is no conclusive evidence about the same, some of the most common conditions which deem problematic while conceiving include ovarian cysts, kidney infections and UTIs. Thyroid and hormonal imbalance can also make you susceptible to false positives.

What you should do?
While pregnancy tests are one of the first signs of confirmation, it is never too bad to give a visit to a doctor and get a handle of things. Depending on the same, the doctor can advise you to go for a urine test or a blood test which can confirm the pregnancy.