False Positives

I would say it was a very early miscarriage, if anything, or what is also sometimes referred to as a chemical pregnancy. Women have them more often than they know, if you're having your normal period then just move on and keep trying.

Hi J.,
In February I was 3 days late for my period. I took three pregnancy tests that all had a very light line. The box says if there is any line at all no matter how light, then you are pregnant. About five days later I started to bleed (i was over a week late by then). It was not bleeding like a normal period. It was very heavy and I was in extreme pain. Well I called my doctor who I had not seen yet and she sent me in to have an ultra sound. I wish she would have checked me out first. Two days later she called and said I was never pregnant or it was an early miscarriage. I am assuming it was an early miscariage because I have not had cramps like that in over 10 years. Many woman have early miscarriages without knowing it and just think it is a heavy period. You probably do not need to be worried though since it was so early. My doctor didn't do anything else after the results came back.
I pray that everything turns out for you.

Hi J., false positives are farely rare. While evaporation lines occur more often. If the test was read after the specified timie limit or the line was grayish, it was likely an evaporation line.

If the line appeared within the time frame, was no gray, no matter how light it was, that's a positive test. Especially if they were from different boxes. It could possibly be a very early miscarriage.

Editted to add:

There seem to be some myths floating in the responses here so I thought it might help to post this website http://www.peeonastick.com/ It offers more info than you ever wanted to know about pregnancy tests, explains evaporations lines, testing too early etc. For example, even though the box says you can test up to 5 days before a missed period, you are more likely to get a negative result even if you are pregnant because there is very little hormone in your urine. Every brand of test has a different detection limit, some brands you can test early on and get a very early result because it's more sensitive unlike the digital tests which are not very sensitive, it will take longer for those to show a positive. Hope that helps!

It could also be a pregnancy that wasn't viable. Many women have early losses and don't even know they had them because they were only a "little" late. Nothing to worry about IF this was the case. Just keep trying. Good luck.

Hi J.,

I always thought that if the 2nd line isn't as dark as the test line then it is considered negative. That would mean you had all negative pregnancy tests and now you are just having your period. Next month maybe you could try the pregnancy test that actually says Pregnant or Not Pregnant so you will be absolutely sure. Good Luck!

First, I don't think false positives or negatives are rare. When I was pregnant, I took three tests (actually, the same ones as you!). Two said I wasn't pregnant and one said I was pregnant.

Technically, you can takes these tests as soon as you're one day late for your period. But I say wait until you're at least one week late.

Just because you have your period doens't mean you're not pregnant. I had my period the first months I was pregnant, which is not unusual. But if you have your period when you're pregnant, it's usually a lot lighter and shorter.

I don't know how much this helps...