Scarleteen

Hello,

I am wondering about the minimum time post-intercourse that a home pregnancy test could be expected to give accurate results (in the case of irregular periods).

In the past on these message boards, I have read 10-14 days post-risk as the gold standard. The following page says at least 14 days: http://www.scarleteen.com/article/pregn ... ancy_tests

However, this page says 3 weeks are necessary for accuracte results: http://www.scarleteen.com/the_pregnancy ... _irregular

I hope this question does not violate the pregnancy question policy. I am trying to use the other resources but they have somewhat conflicting information, so I would greatly appreciate clarification. Thank you.

Hi eric,

The appropriate amount of time to be taken after intercourse depends on the directions for the specific test that a person bought, so the way to know when to test is for the person testing to check the directions and determine how long after the incident they need to wait.

Unfortunately I have read the instructions and it only lists the accuracy in terms of number of days from a woman’s period (e.g., 4 days before expected period, day after missed period, etc.). Because my girlfriend’s periods are irregular (they may not come for 6 months), this way of calculating has no value for us.

We are trying to figure out the number of days to wait after intercourse for an average home pregnancy test. I have seen both 14 days and 3 weeks listed on Scarleteen.

Personally, I’d go ahead and wait three weeks. Or, you can get a couple tests, test at 2 and redo at 3 if she still hasn’t had a period by then.