First Response®

How Pregnancy Tests Work

From the earliest moments of conception, your body is already starting to undergo monumental changes. One of the very first is production of the pregnancy hormone, hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin), which can be detected in your blood and in your urine.

The amount of hCG in your body increases rapidly. It doubles every 36 to 48 hours as your pregnancy progresses, reaching its peak at eight to ten weeks. Pregnancy tests work by detecting hCG levels in your urine. When a woman's urine comes in contact with the specially treated strip on a pregnancy test stick, special markers appear within minutes, indicating whether or not hCG, the pregnancy hormone, has been detected.

Some at-home pregnancy tests are unable to detect hCG in urine sooner than the first day of a missed period. Advancements have enabled some at-home pregnancy tests to detect hCG five days before a missed period. The FIRST RESPONSE® Early Result Pregnancy Test and FIRST RESPONSE® GOLD™ Early Result Digital Pregnancy Test detects hCG in urine five days before your missed period.1 FIRST RESPONSE® is over 99% accurate at detecting typical pregnancy hormone levels from the day of your expected period.2

Pregnancy is truly a life-changing event. Knowing earlier if you are pregnant or not allows you to make important decisions such as adopting healthier lifestyle choices. You can begin taking better care of yourself and your baby sooner, in the critical first stages of your baby's development.

Related Links
Early Result Pregnancy Test >>
Rapid Result Pregnancy Test >>
Gold™ Early Result Digital Pregnancy
Test >>
Due Date Calculator >>
Common Pregnancy Questions >>


Visit MarchofDimes.com 3 for more on conception, pregnancy, and a healthy nine months.
1 First Response® can detect the pregnancy hormone as early as five days sooner than the day of your missed period (four days before day of expected period).

2 However, some pregnant women may not have detectable amounts of pregnancy hormone in their urine on the first day of the missed period or may have miscalculated the first day of their period.

3 March of Dimes does not endorse specific products or brands.