Pregnancy Tests: Expensive or Cheap?

Have you ever walked into a store to purchase a HPT and seen all of the pretty pink boxes with pictures of babies? They give you wonderful thoughts of your test coming up positive and what your baby will look like. Then you look and see some other boxes which are just a neutral color and have the generic words "Pregnancy Test" with no fancy pictures or enticing colors.
 
What is the difference between these two types of Pregnancy Tests?  Probably a difference of about 7 dollars and the one in the pretty box may not even be as sensitive as the one in the generic box.  But, which one do you think the majority of women who are TTC would buy?  If you guessed the one in the fancy box then you are probably right.  This is because the one in the fancy box satisfies an emotional need.
 
Next time that you are going to buy a pregnancy test, try to ignore the pretty designs on the front of the box and look for the sensivity of the test that should be located somewhere on the box. This is the level of HCG that the test measures in your urine.  HCG refers to Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, which is a hormone that is produced shortly after the fertilized egg burrows into the lining of the uterus. HCG is measured in thousandths of International Units, or mIU. The lower this number is the more sensitive the test is. mIU's generally range from 20 to 100, 20 being the most sensitive and giving you a positive result sooner.
 
If you are TTC and you know that you will be wanting to test frequently then you should consider purchasing some bulk pregnancy tests from the Internet.  They are a great deal cheaper and they are some of the most sensitive that you can buy.  You can choose from the strip test or the midstream test.  The strip tests are a bit cheaper but can be just as sensitive as the midstream.  The only difference between the tests is that the strip tests don't have the fancy casing that holds the strip. The strip tests require you to pee into a container and dip the test into the urine and the midstream tests can be held directly in your stream of urine.  If you decide to purchase the strip tests you will want to get a designated cup and keep it as your "pee cup".  I use the strip type tests because they are cheaper and just as sensitive.  I don't mind designating a "pee cup" that I keep under my counter in the bathroom.

Now that you know the difference between the cheap and expensive pregnancy tests you will be able to get a good quality, sensitive test without breaking the bank.  And, if you are a test-a-holic, like me, it will benefit you greatly.