Home pregnancy tests are picking up conceptions so early that doctors say they are causing unnecessary grief when women "miscarry".
Doctors say the test packaging should carry a warning that many conceptions end naturally in the very early stages.
Although some home-test kits available at pharmacies in New Zealand say results are available from the first day of a missed period, others are sensitive enough to be used as early as seven days after conception.
This could be before the fertilised egg had implanted itself into the wall of the womb, according to Dunedin Hospital obstetrician Dr Sarah Tout. "It doesn't mean you're pregnant, just that the egg has been fertilised. You can have a positive test and then bleed a few days later."
Tout said these apparent "miscarriages" could cause unnecessary grief.
"But it's very difficult to say when you should grieve for a miscarriage. In the past, before lots of scanning and testing, no-one would know they were pregnant at such early stages. Women now want more information earlier."
Women should be advised about the downsides of early testing, she said.
Source
Doctors say the test packaging should carry a warning that many conceptions end naturally in the very early stages.
Although some home-test kits available at pharmacies in New Zealand say results are available from the first day of a missed period, others are sensitive enough to be used as early as seven days after conception.
This could be before the fertilised egg had implanted itself into the wall of the womb, according to Dunedin Hospital obstetrician Dr Sarah Tout. "It doesn't mean you're pregnant, just that the egg has been fertilised. You can have a positive test and then bleed a few days later."
Tout said these apparent "miscarriages" could cause unnecessary grief.
"But it's very difficult to say when you should grieve for a miscarriage. In the past, before lots of scanning and testing, no-one would know they were pregnant at such early stages. Women now want more information earlier."
Women should be advised about the downsides of early testing, she said.
Source