could a pregnancy test be wrong?
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Although rare, it's possible to get a positive result from a home pregnancy test when you're not actually pregnant. This is known as a false-positive.
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Sometimes you can get a false negative on your pregnancy test – meaning you're pregnant, but the test says otherwise. On the flipside, you can miss your period, but you're not pregnant.
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A false-positive result indicates a pregnancy even though there isn't one. Rarely, the test may detect abnormal, non-pregnancy tissue, which requires follow-up by a doctor. These results are rare because usually only pregnant women produce the hCG hormone.
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Symptoms With a Negative Test Feeling pregnant doesn't mean you are, but a negative pregnancy test can be wrong. A pregnancy test may be negative if: You tested too early. There isn't enough pregnancy hormone hCG in your urine yet.
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A negative pregnancy test is still most likely to mean you're not pregnant. But if you really believe you are pregnant and have pregnancy symptoms (here are 41 early pregnancy signs in case you're not sure), there's a chance you may be right.
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Neither estrogen or progesterone impact pregnancy tests. Taking a pregnancy test at the wrong time can absolutely cause a false negative.
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Getting a false-negative pregnancy test because of the hook effect is rare. False-negative test results can happen for many reasons. One older study that tested 27 different kinds of at-home pregnancy tests found that they gave false negatives almost 48 percent of the time.
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['Taking the Pregnancy Test Too Soon.', 'Not Waiting Long Enough to Read the Test.', 'Waiting Too Long to Read the Test.', 'Not Believing Positive Test Results.', 'Not Following up on a Negative Test.', 'A Word From Verywell.']
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False negative pregnancy tests do occur. In fact, it is possible to have a negative result on a pregnancy test and actually be pregnant.
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It's possible to have a positive pregnancy test even if you aren't technically pregnant. This is called a false positive. It's sometimes caused by a chemical pregnancy. A chemical pregnancy occurs if a fertilized egg, known as the embryo, is unable to implant, or grow, very early on.
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If you're testing before the day of your expected period, you may see a negative result – even if you're pregnant – if: Your test wasn't sensitive enough for early testing. You didn't use the first urine of the day, so concentration of hCG in your urine wasn't high enough.
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It's not common but sometimes this effect leads to urine and blood tests giving the wrong result. This error might happen even after you've had one positive pregnancy test and test again a couple days later. No, you're not going crazy — and you're not necessarily miscarrying when this happens, either.
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A false positive pregnancy test is very rare with today's tests. A false negative test (a negative pregnancy test when the woman is pregnant) is unusual and usually due to the test being performed incorrectly. Also, over-the-counter pregnancy tests are basically the same as the ones done in your doctor's office.
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Sometimes you can get a false negative on your pregnancy test – meaning you're pregnant, but the test says otherwise. On the flipside, you can miss your period, but you're not pregnant. Read on to find out what a negative pregnancy test result means.
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As you might expect, a home pregnancy test isn't guaranteed to be accurate after its expiration date. If the chemical is no longer able to detect hCG — even if it's present — it makes sense that you'd be more likely to get a false negative with an expired test.
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A false negative on a home pregnancy test is possible, but extremely unlikely. As long as your urine got on the test's absorbent strip, it should be accurate. You can always take another test if you're worried you might have missed. Something that can give you a false negative is taking the test too early.
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It is possible to have a positive pregnancy test result and not actually be pregnant – despite many people telling you otherwise. It's called a false positive – and while it's not common – it does happen (and we know it can be seriously disappointing if you're trying to conceive ? )