Accuracy of Clear Blue Easy Digital Pregnancy Test

Taking a home pregnancy test can be exciting and a bit overwhelming for many women. It's important to feel that the test will give accurate and easy to understand results.

The digital pregnancy test is a huge leap forward from traditional tests that show results with a line or two, or with a plus or minus. Digital tests, such as Clear Blue Easy digital, do not leave the interpretation of results up to the individual but instead spell the answer out clearly.

Accuracy

Home pregnancy tests are now very sensitive at picking up pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in urine. The amount of hCG in urine and blood is measured in mili-International Units per milliliter, or mIU/ml. HCG levels rise rapidly in early pregnancy.

The Clear Blue Easy literature on their healthcare professional's site states that the average hCG levels reach at least 50 mIU/ml on the first day of a missed period.

The company's website states that this test has a 99 percent accuracy rate when used on the first day of a missed period. The accuracy, when used four days before an expected period, is listed as 56 percent, as 88 percent three days before, at 97 percent two days before and 98 percent one day prior.

Clear Results

Smiling woman positive pregnancy test result

Can a Pregnancy Test Be Wrong?

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One of the benefits of digital pregnancy tests is the clarity of results. If a test is accurate, but the results are misread, a woman might not get the early prenatal care she requires. The Clear Blue Easy digital pregnancy test clearly spells out in words, pregnant or not pregnant. This gives a clearer result than using positive or negative signs or lines that become darker if you're pregnant, as some competing tests use.

False Negative Results

Certain factors can affect the accuracy of Clear Blue Easy digital pregnancy test, as well as other home pregnancy tests. When testing before period is due, it's best to use the first morning's urine to test, as the levels of hCG will be most concentrated then.

Drinking too much fluid before taking the home pregnancy test can dilute urine and may lead to false negative results, especially when the test is performed early on. Miscalculating the date of expected menstrual cycle can cause a woman to accidentally test too early, and this can also lead to false negatives.

False Positive Results

Smiling woman positive pregnancy test result

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False positives are more rare, but can be caused by taking fertility medications containing hCG, often given during fertility treatments. Certain tumors that can occur after a pregnancy can also cause pregnancy tests to give positive results, as can hCG still in your body after a recent pregnancy.

If the Clear Blue Easy digital test reports a negative result but after a few days, the menstrual cycle has still not begun, retest.

If the test is still negative and your menstrual cycle doesn't begin soon, your doctor can do further testing to determine if you have a hormonal disorder interfering with your menstrual cycle. In the event of a positive home pregnancy test, contact a doctor as soon as possible to begin prenatal care.

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