It has been weeks since your last period, you have noticed nausea, sore breasts, the typical pregnancy symptoms yet every at-home test says the same result. This may lead you to ask “Can you be 10 weeks pregnant, with a negative pregnancy test?”
Can I Be 10 Weeks Pregnant, Negative Pregnancy Test
There might be many reasons behind having a negative pregnancy test at 10 week pregnancy such as having a low HCG level, a faulty test, and user error which is the most common reason for an incorrect result. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about pregnancy tests, how to do them, and when is the best time of day.
How Do Pregnancy Tests Work?
Doing a pregnancy test is nerve-wracking whether you have been trying to conceive naturally, through the form of IVF or a baby right now is not what you hoped for. No matter the reason grabbing that at-home pregnancy test can be exciting yet scary for us all.
No matter the result I find every mom I talk to questions the result. Can I have a false negative? Why am I having symptoms? Where is my period?
Before we look into why you could be getting a negative pregnancy test at 10 weeks pregnant let’s look at how these at-home tests work.
At-home testing kits are made to detect the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin otherwise known as HCG or the pregnancy hormone.
Women who have conceived release this hormone as a result of a fertilized egg implanting into the uterine wall. These hormones are responsible for those two lines on your at-home kits but there are times when they are not 100% accurate.
How Accurate Are at Home Tests?
The hormone HCG should be doubling every few days to show that the pregnancy is viable and the placenta is growing, helping to multiply those little cells that will become your little person.
There are three types of home kits
- Midstream
- Strip
- Cassette
- Midstream: These tests require you to urinate directly onto the kit. If you have taken one of these before you may have the skill not to wee on your hand!
- Strip: When you collect your urine in a cup and dip the test in. Maybe easier than the midstream test but the cup needs to be kept sterile.
- Cassette: Similar to the strip test but you drop your urine onto the test.
To get a positive result your body needs to be producing at least 25 mIU per every Ml of the HCG hormone to get a positive result anything less than this will show a negative result.
Monitoring your HCG levels can indicate whether you have tested too early or in fact too late. Your doctor can also perform blood tests to ensure the HCG levels are rising as your pregnancy continues.
Kits you buy at the drug store are thought to be 99% accurate. They have evolved over the years making them just as trustworthy as the ones from the doctor’s office.
Can You Be 10 Weeks Pregnant and Test Negative?
So you may be sitting there saying I think I’m 10 weeks pregnant but a negative test.
As mentioned the drug store testing kits are 99% accurate but this leaves us with 1%. Even though it is unlikely you can actually get the wrong result from a pregnancy test.
Here are some reasons you may get a negative result:
- Your HCG levels are too low.
- It is too early to test.
- Faulty tests.
- User error.
- The Hook Effect.
- Overly hydrated.
- Cryptic Pregnancy.
- Ectopic Pregnancy.
Reasons Behind the Negative Result at 10 week
‣ Low HCG Levels- As we said you need to have certain levels of HCG in your system to trigger those positive lines to appear. If you are very early then your hormone levels could be below what is needed for the at-home tests.
Early Testing- There is such a thing as testing too early. It coincides with low hormone levels, retesting is recommended if aunt flo doesn’t arrive.
‣ Faulty Tests- As with everything, even pregnancy tests can be dud. The test you buy should have a sell-by date on them this ensures that you won’t get an invalid result. At times when the test is in date, it could be from a faulty batch. Contact the manufacturer or drug store to get a replacement.
‣ User Error- Now if you are anything like me the words ‘accident prone’ could be a part of your name! Before taking the test ensure that you read the instructions and follow them religiously. So many times women have taken the test incorrectly leaving them confused with their results.
‣ Overly Hydrated- It is a strange thing to think about but if you are well hydrated then so will your urine. I’m not saying you need to die of thirst to take the test but drinking water or other fluids can affect the test result. The best time to take a test is when your urine is most concentrated. Say after around 8 hours of sleep. Testing first thing ensures that your wee is the most concentrated.
‣ The Hook Effect- Considering you are 10 weeks late for your period and having pregnancy symptoms, you could be one of those mystery cases you usually hear about in the news.
The Hook Effect is not a term regularly used by professionals but it is a scientific way of surmising a medical lab error.
Considering you are now 10 weeks late you may now be too far gone into your pregnancy for a home test to detect hence the reason why you could be 10 weeks pregnant but negative pregnancy test.
I know what you’re thinking, what about my HCG levels? Well being too far gone means your body is producing a lot of the pregnancy hormone. In fact, too much will override the home test.
Think of it as filling a grocery bag at the store. You have a strong paper bag, you fill it and it holds, you fill it more and the bottom falls through. You no longer have a paper bag.
This is a little of the same. Your HCG levels could be so high at this point that it will overload the tests giving you a false result.
Typically this is more common in pregnancies of multiples as you will have two placentas giving off the hormone. Also, IVF drugs can stimulate too much HCG which can alter your results.
Even though the Hook Effect is rare it can happen and could be dangerous for you and your baby. Without a positive result, you may consider living your life as normal meaning consumption of alcohol or use of tobacco products that are harmful in pregnancy.
The other reason it could be dangerous is if you are not testing positive you could in fact miscarry without knowing. If this happens then you should seek medical advice to ensure all remains of pregnancy are gone to prevent further complications.
‣ Cryptic Pregnancy- A Cryptic Pregnancy is extremely rare yet it still happens! Known as a denied pregnancy this is when all tests point you to the not pregnant result but in fact, you actually are.
This means you can still be 10 weeks pregnant and have a negative pregnancy test.
I know what you’re thinking it’s mumbo jumbo for tabloids to sell their stories but there are real cases of women going through their pregnancy without getting a positive result on those all-important tests!
Take Klara Dollan from the UK she actually gave birth on her bathroom floor without realizing she was in fact pregnant.
Erin Langmaid also had no idea she was pregnant until she started having labor pains.
It can happen so if you feel pregnant then visit the doctor as you could be one of these rare cases!
‣ Ectopic Pregnancy- Unfortunately, there are chances when women suffer ectopic pregnancies. This is when the fertilized egg implants itself into one of the fallopian tubes.
If you are 10 weeks pregnant with a negative test then this could be one of those risks.
When a fertilized egg implants the placenta becomes the main source of energy and nutrition. It cannot grow strong enough in the fallopian tube to support your baby’s development.
As the placenta cannot grow your HCG levels will fall hence resulting in a negative test
Wrapping Up
There we have it! There are so many reasons why you could be 10 weeks pregnant, with a negative pregnancy test.
There are also alternative testing measures to confirm a pregnancy. Blood tests from the doctor can detect lower levels of HCG than a urine test can. This means that it can be a more reliable test to detect early pregnancy.
Other than that you could request a scan be it internal or transverse this would be the only indicator to ensure your little bub is growing as he/she should be.
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