OB and the Pregnancy Test
Often, an OB will ask about early pregnancy symptoms if a patient states that she took a pregnancy test whether or not the result was positive. An OB knows that home pregnancy tests are often inaccurate if done incorrectly so someone presenting with early pregnancy symptoms that declares she had a negative pregnancy tests may indeed be pregnant. A urine or blood pregnancy test is typically performed if a female patient arrives in the clinic complaining of early pregnancy symptoms to verify that she is, or is not pregnant. The blood test is a very accurate way to determine if hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is present in the blood or not. The presence of hCG (the pregnancy hormone used to determine pregnancy) increases over the early weeks of pregnancy and is usually the reason for a woman experiencing early pregnancy symptoms. An OB will be the first to tell a woman that early pregnancy symptoms can vary from one woman to the next and even vary from one pregnancy to the next for the same woman.
Early Pregnancy Symptoms?
Most of the pregnancy symptoms experienced in early pregnancy can also be explained by other medical reasons. A woman experiencing swollen or tender breasts may be pregnant or she may have a hormonal imbalance, be on birth control pills, or about to have her period. Typically a female in the reproductive years that has a delay in the start of her period may automatically suspect a pregnancy but there are other explanations for a missed or delayed start to a monthly period including excessive weight gain or loss, a hormonal problem, stress or tension, an illness and if a woman is breastfeeding, she may experience a delay in the return of her menstrual cycle. Another common early pregnancy symptom, nausea and vomiting can also be caused by food poisoning, stress, a hormonal imbalance, or a stomach disorder. As you can see now, just because a woman is experiencing an early pregnancy symptom does not necessarily mean that she is pregnant. A pregnancy symptom is just a reason to test for pregnancy and must not be used in of itself to diagnosis the state of pregnancy according to those working with pregnant women who often care for women that experience what they believe are pregnancy symptoms only to find out through testing that they are not pregnant. Obs say that a urine or blood pregnancy test is the only way to know for sure if a symptom is indeed an early pregnancy symptom.
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