Conversely, some women continue to have menstrual periods during pregnancy, although the periods are often lighter and shorter than usual. If you experience a missed period or lighter than usual period, contact a health care professional if you think you could be pregnant. Two types of pregnancy test are available at the Student Health Care Center. One test uses either a urine or blood sample and simply tells you whether or not you are pregnant. This test can detect pregnancy as early as 7 days after implantation or 4-5 days before the first missed period.
Results are usually available in an hour or less.
The other test is a blood test which can also tell you how far along you are in the pregnancy. This is the most sensitive and specific test for the detection of early pregnancy. Since the blood sample is sent to an off-campus lab, test results may take about 24 hours. It is important to have a confirmatory test if your at-home test turns up positive. Both a physical examination by a health care professional AND a pregnancy test are essential to making an accurate determination of pregnancy.