“Pregnancy question?”

Yes, for some years women have been able to confirm a pregnancy before first missed period. A serum Beta-human Chorionic Gonadotropin blood test (pregnancy test) will detect a pregnancy approximately 6-7 days after conception.

Yes you can, but not by yourself. You would have to have blood drawn to look for pregnancy hormone (HCG level). That will show up before you miss a period, but requires you to see someone (your doctor, nurse practitioner, urgent care, etc) to have them order the test and someone to draw the blood. Most of the time, they may not order the test, since insurance may not pay for it unless there is a good reason to know before a missed period or a urine test will show you are pregnant (usually around the time that you would have your period).

Fred Coleman

The over the counter pregnancy test are pretty sensitive & can pick up a positive a few days before the missed period. The blood test is a little more sensitive. If you do a urine, do the 1st morning urine for the test.

Its best to wait to see if your period starts, sometimes home pregnancy tests can detect very low HCG levels but many times these HCG levels will fall on their own and may not result in a true pregnancy, so we generally recommend waiting to see if the period is late, then testing.