Qualitative and Quantitative Blood Pregnancy TestsA missing period, irritability, and sore breasts can cause a woman to run to her doctor for some tests to confirm whether or not she is pregnant. While there are countless brands of home pregnancy test kits in pharmacies today, these don’t usually give accurate results until the fourteenth day after a supposed conception. This also means a few days after a missed period. So when anxiety gets the better of women, they consult their doctor and have a pregnancy blood test done. Because of the very little window for human error on these types of tests, they are considered more accurate than those home kits. This article defines the two types of pregnancy tests that utilize blood samples and what they could tell a woman and her doctor. The first pregnancy blood test is known as the qualitative test. It simply involves analyzing the blood sample for HCG content. HCG is a pregnancy hormone that is secreted by the placenta. If a woman isn’t taking any HCG-containing medications, and her blood tests reveals positive, then there’s a good chance there’s a fetus and placenta developing inside her. If the lab reports say that there is no HCG content, she may not be pregnant, or the test may have been done too early in the pregnancy, and there isn’t enough HCG in the blood yet, to yield a positive result. The second blood test is the quantitative test. This involves studying the blood sample for the amount of HCG present in it. As the pregnancy progresses, the placenta grows and the amount of HCG in the blood increases as well. Naturally, a one month old pregnancy will have higher concentrations of HCG compared to a gestation of two weeks. This type of test helps the doctor know the age of the pregnancy, and whether it is progressing normally. Related articles
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