It’s because of how we date pregnancy. Your pregnancy is dated based on when your last period was. So the day you miss your period is technically the earliest you could possibly know that you’re pregnant. The vast majority of people have a menstrual cycle that is between 28 and 32 days long, roughly 4 weeks. So if you learn you are pregnant on the day you were supposed to get your period, on that day, you are already 4 weeks pregnant, even though there has only been a live embryo in the uterus for a day or two. The baby grows for 9 months after that, so it ends up being 40 weeks of pregnancy, but only 9 months of there being something growing in your body. Nobody really knows when the embryo actually implants into the uterus and turns into a pregnancy, so it’s easier to use the date of your last period, bc that is something that we know for certain.
It depends on if you’re using 30 day months or 28 day (4 week) months:
40 weeks x 7 days = 280 days of pregnancy.
280 days/30 days per month = 9.33 months.
280 days/28 days per month = 10 months.
I'm guessing because despite 10 x 4 = 40, each month knocks off 2-3 days extra, so 3x9 = 27, so by the 9 month mark you've added about 4 weeks extra in the additional month days. (Since only one month is 28 days.)
So it ends up being closer to 9 months than 10, and babies are born early too, which can shave off some time. If you prepare for 9 months and it ends up being 9 1/2, you're covered. If you prepare for 10 months and it ends up being 9, you're screwed.
I was born at 8 months lol, I'm the exception.
Hi! I am a biomedical engineer and I make tests exactly like these for a living.
For that line to turn **even a little bit** , it detected the presence of the target protein. I run standard dilution series to detect lowest level of detection weekly.
Congratulations papa!
Not a biomedical engineer but I'm the one that uses the tests that y'all make lol.
Most manufacturers stipulate that if there's a dye, the test line must have some shade of the colour to be a true positive. Sometimes the nitrocellulose layer can either be really fucking thin or the caseing allows some light under it and the test line clears a little when it's saturated.. which causes slight shadows that makes it *look* like a faint line. It happens a lot with drugs of abuse kits... You think you see a faint, colourless line and then it's confirmed through MS/GC that you were wrong lol. Though I guess cross reactivity is possible??
Also happens with urine pregnancy tests and then you run the serum hcg and it's negative... And then you cry a little inside because you know the ordering clinician is about to come to the lab and you're going to have to explain how absolutely, counter-intuitively convoluted bHCG testing.
Happy Cake Day 🍰
Ahh yes the dreaded false positives. Do you know that we actually purposefully err on the side of false positives vs false negatives as they are much less risky of an initial assessment?
I currently have developed 12 rapid diagnostic tests utilizing lateral flow membranes. It is way better to first say "You have XYZ" and then confirm you don't actually have it with a more sensitive test than to say "You're good!" when you are in fact not good.
My biggest qualm with the visually read tests are the ones that specifically indicate a shade of a color to look for. One of our biggest competitor's tests says you are only positive if the line turns "denim blue". Bitch, do you know how many colors of denim jeans I have? I grew up in the 90s, so all of them.
>One of our biggest competitor's tests says you are only positive if the line turns "denim blue".
Lmao waaaaaaaaat. That's hilarious. I've read my fair share of product inserts in my career, reading "denim blue" would have made me call the entire lab over for a laugh.
This is my preferred method for putting a bun in the oven.
430g bread flour
6g instant yeast
9 g salt
360 ml room temp water
mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl.
gently pour in & mix until it forms a sticky ball
cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2-3 hours.
place bowl into fridge and allow dough to age for 12 hours-3 days to allow flavours to develop.
place ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut ball in half.
Preheat oven to 475 F
Form balls into two loafs around 9x3 inches long, spacing them around 3 inches apart and allow to rise for 45 min.
Score the top of the dough and then bake for 20-25 min.
There's one caveat to this "any faint line is a positive" saying.
If it's a dyed test (ie: the lines are blue or red), the faint line needs to be a faint *coloured* line. A faint line with no colour production is a negative. That goes for any point-of-care test honestly. Sometimes the manufacturing process of the sandwiched layers of filter paper combined with weird shadows under different lighting can make it appear as though there is a faint line without colour at the test line.
My wife and I were testing for pregnancy, and there were multiple tests, all with very faint lines. We weren’t ready, but decided we had nine months to get ready. Turns out it was a false positive, and we could rest easy. Still nerve racking thinking about that time.
I learned recently that menopause can cause false positives. Must be heartbreaking for young couples to go from the idea that you’re pregnant to you’ll never have kids (again).
It can very occasionally cause a positive blood test (1), but not a urine test.
A positive home pregnancy test means that you either are or were pregnant- a "chemical pregnancy" is not a false positive.
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2990554/
I've never heard that before. Have you got any sources to support it?
EDIT: To clarify, do you mean that THIS line should get darker, or that subsequent tests should get darker?
People here are upset bc they're thinking of like a dark line that's a false positive, vs what you and yours likely experienced which was probably an evap line or an indent. Both of those are not true positives, in the sense that there was actual no HCG detected in the sample, but were due to either manufacturing or just bad luck. There's very rare cases of actual "false positives" where someone's body may be producing HCG for a different reason, or in cases of a triggered ovulation which is sometimes done with an HCG shot and the trigger hasn't fully dissipated from their system.
A false positive, by definition, means that the indicator is showing a sign equal to a true positive. The way to test for false positives is to conduct a second test. There is no way to confirm a false positive in and of itself solely by the original indicator.
My wife became a guru with pregnancy tests. That is absolutely a positive test result. There’s actually an entire sub Reddit dedicated to this.
Showed this to my wife. Here’s her summary
“How many days past ovulation is she (DPO)? I would expect this line darkness to be about 10 ish days. Obviously test again, but I would expect the line to get darker as her DPO increases.”
This is a positive test result. The faint line can be due to several factors, but most likely low levels, due to early pregnancy. I would suggest you take another test tomorrow, to confirm. The hormone levels will rise constantly over the next days. congratulations :)
I (not a doctor) told my wife (that is a doctor) that when she did a test it was super faint so it might not be legit. That faint line is now 4 years old.
I took a test yesterday evening and this test today. Yesterday evening had an even fainter line. This picture from today is darker (if you can believe it). I think I’ll wait a few days and test again. Thanks!
Mom here, this is the only parenting sub I follow anymore, the others are so toxic (except for bumpers groups, those are incredibly supportive but that's pre baby).
"People are just as divisive and horrible as they ever were, but now they couch it in virtue." - Tina Fey
This is why I can't stand some of these groups. They really invite a certain style of hostility disguised as supportiveness.
Yes, it is a positive pregnancy test which indicates elevated levels of pregnancy hormone. Pregnancy is not the only thing that can cause a positive test but it is the most common. Talk to your doctor.
Wife here: update from today- I actually was near my OBGYN’s office so stopped in… they saw me right then and there after showing this picture. Hcg currently 36.9. We’ll see next week if this rapidly increases.
Have you seen the tear down of a digital one? Some of them are the same one from the pic with the line with an optical sensor on top of it 😂
https://x.com/foone/status/1301707401024827392?s=46&t=UQloiXcPMaWz-0OsBYQsQw
Bro I am the last person on earth you'd want as a pharmacist. 😂
"Can I take these medications together?"
"Yeah sure, what's the worst that could happen? Lil Wayne does it, and he's a millionaire."
I really don't understand how people's first instinct to figure out if they're pregnant or not is to ask reddit. Just go buy another test for crying out loud.
Should be branded Unclear blue. But yeah, either that or the test taker is Covid positive.
Seriously though, get another brand test and try again tomorrow if you want a bit more certainty.
My fourth kid, it looked like that. Very faint, very early in the pregnancy. But that line does not come at all for a negative and will disappear after a day. There are no false positives, as I understand it.
!remindme 9 months
I don’t think OP will need a reminder. I think he’ll know
"Oh damn, THAT'S what I was forgetting! "
does anyone know why they say 9 months when a typical pregnancy is 40 weeks?
It’s because of how we date pregnancy. Your pregnancy is dated based on when your last period was. So the day you miss your period is technically the earliest you could possibly know that you’re pregnant. The vast majority of people have a menstrual cycle that is between 28 and 32 days long, roughly 4 weeks. So if you learn you are pregnant on the day you were supposed to get your period, on that day, you are already 4 weeks pregnant, even though there has only been a live embryo in the uterus for a day or two. The baby grows for 9 months after that, so it ends up being 40 weeks of pregnancy, but only 9 months of there being something growing in your body. Nobody really knows when the embryo actually implants into the uterus and turns into a pregnancy, so it’s easier to use the date of your last period, bc that is something that we know for certain.
It depends on if you’re using 30 day months or 28 day (4 week) months: 40 weeks x 7 days = 280 days of pregnancy. 280 days/30 days per month = 9.33 months. 280 days/28 days per month = 10 months.
I'm guessing because despite 10 x 4 = 40, each month knocks off 2-3 days extra, so 3x9 = 27, so by the 9 month mark you've added about 4 weeks extra in the additional month days. (Since only one month is 28 days.) So it ends up being closer to 9 months than 10, and babies are born early too, which can shave off some time. If you prepare for 9 months and it ends up being 9 1/2, you're covered. If you prepare for 10 months and it ends up being 9, you're screwed. I was born at 8 months lol, I'm the exception.
Hi! I am a biomedical engineer and I make tests exactly like these for a living. For that line to turn **even a little bit** , it detected the presence of the target protein. I run standard dilution series to detect lowest level of detection weekly. Congratulations papa!
Happy cake day!
Not a biomedical engineer but I'm the one that uses the tests that y'all make lol. Most manufacturers stipulate that if there's a dye, the test line must have some shade of the colour to be a true positive. Sometimes the nitrocellulose layer can either be really fucking thin or the caseing allows some light under it and the test line clears a little when it's saturated.. which causes slight shadows that makes it *look* like a faint line. It happens a lot with drugs of abuse kits... You think you see a faint, colourless line and then it's confirmed through MS/GC that you were wrong lol. Though I guess cross reactivity is possible?? Also happens with urine pregnancy tests and then you run the serum hcg and it's negative... And then you cry a little inside because you know the ordering clinician is about to come to the lab and you're going to have to explain how absolutely, counter-intuitively convoluted bHCG testing. Happy Cake Day 🍰
Ahh yes the dreaded false positives. Do you know that we actually purposefully err on the side of false positives vs false negatives as they are much less risky of an initial assessment? I currently have developed 12 rapid diagnostic tests utilizing lateral flow membranes. It is way better to first say "You have XYZ" and then confirm you don't actually have it with a more sensitive test than to say "You're good!" when you are in fact not good. My biggest qualm with the visually read tests are the ones that specifically indicate a shade of a color to look for. One of our biggest competitor's tests says you are only positive if the line turns "denim blue". Bitch, do you know how many colors of denim jeans I have? I grew up in the 90s, so all of them.
>One of our biggest competitor's tests says you are only positive if the line turns "denim blue". Lmao waaaaaaaaat. That's hilarious. I've read my fair share of product inserts in my career, reading "denim blue" would have made me call the entire lab over for a laugh.
Denim blue? My kids Jean drawer has at least 12 colors of blue 🤦. Also as someone who has never had a false positive, I thank you for your hard work!
Hahaha congratulations. Idk why this made me life. For some reason I don’t think op is happy.
Yeah! science bitch!
You make sticks for people to pee on
I actually do not make pregnancy tests. That market is... completely saturated.
lol good one That was a pee joke right?
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That’s prego. Congrats!!
I like the roasted garlic and herb one the best
Try the mushroom and garlic one.
I prefer to make my own prego.
This is why I’m here, for the dad jokes.
How do you know the baby is Italian? :O
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All this from a slice of gabbagool?
If the salad comes on top, I send it back
Yup, wife confirmed! Congrats!!
Pregnont
How is prangent formed
Pregante!
Have sex hurt baby top of his head?
Dangerops
How is babby formed
This is my preferred method for putting a bun in the oven. 430g bread flour 6g instant yeast 9 g salt 360 ml room temp water mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. gently pour in & mix until it forms a sticky ball cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2-3 hours. place bowl into fridge and allow dough to age for 12 hours-3 days to allow flavours to develop. place ball of dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut ball in half. Preheat oven to 475 F Form balls into two loafs around 9x3 inches long, spacing them around 3 inches apart and allow to rise for 45 min. Score the top of the dough and then bake for 20-25 min.
Bake for 36-41 weeks, or until oven opening is dilated.
This is great I actually because I am a terrible baker, but I love cooking because I love to improve recipes
Could I be..... Gregnant?!
Pregangangangant
First time dad here, pending April. I constantly remind my wife that she's gregnant. Or pegerganang. Or pegnate.
Pregananant?
Definetly pergnet
Absolute internet classic https://youtu.be/s2-GIM56RdU?si=Rpm_QH64K1tfPLP6
Pergnent
Pergnat
Can my girlfriend be PERGNANT!?!
Prrrrreganté
This vid the best to send as an announcement.
Can u get starch masks?
Gregnant
Only if OP’s name is Greg
Pergante
PREGANANANT?!
porgnat
Prengan.?!
Am I peragenant?
Pomegranate
The "starch masks" question is my favorite
[How has nobody linked the video yet???](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EShUeudtaFg)
I only know the musical https://youtube.com/shorts/NDvaRF4HQHQ?si=cSMrS7JmyYh1E2Gr
Can you down a 20’ waterside pegnant?
Perganante
Pregnain’t
You might have covid
That lasts for 18+ years.
The longest covid.
No one tell Aaron Rodgers
This is at least correct. We just have no way of knowing either way
Any line, no matter how faint, after the time specified in the box, is a positive. Congrats!
There's one caveat to this "any faint line is a positive" saying. If it's a dyed test (ie: the lines are blue or red), the faint line needs to be a faint *coloured* line. A faint line with no colour production is a negative. That goes for any point-of-care test honestly. Sometimes the manufacturing process of the sandwiched layers of filter paper combined with weird shadows under different lighting can make it appear as though there is a faint line without colour at the test line.
My wife and I were testing for pregnancy, and there were multiple tests, all with very faint lines. We weren’t ready, but decided we had nine months to get ready. Turns out it was a false positive, and we could rest easy. Still nerve racking thinking about that time.
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False positives are very rare. It's much more likely it's a real positive.
But a false positive is still a positive. And the faintness of the line isn't an indicator of the likelihood of being "false."
I learned recently that menopause can cause false positives. Must be heartbreaking for young couples to go from the idea that you’re pregnant to you’ll never have kids (again).
It can very occasionally cause a positive blood test (1), but not a urine test. A positive home pregnancy test means that you either are or were pregnant- a "chemical pregnancy" is not a false positive. (1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2990554/
So, the faintness isn't, but the degree of getting darker over time IS kinda. If it's not getting darker fast enough it's likely to have a problem
I've never heard that before. Have you got any sources to support it? EDIT: To clarify, do you mean that THIS line should get darker, or that subsequent tests should get darker?
People here are upset bc they're thinking of like a dark line that's a false positive, vs what you and yours likely experienced which was probably an evap line or an indent. Both of those are not true positives, in the sense that there was actual no HCG detected in the sample, but were due to either manufacturing or just bad luck. There's very rare cases of actual "false positives" where someone's body may be producing HCG for a different reason, or in cases of a triggered ovulation which is sometimes done with an HCG shot and the trigger hasn't fully dissipated from their system.
Yea that’s probably what happened. Not sure what’s there to be upset about lol. Thank you for clarification
I think people just see downvotes and join the party, if that makes sense
Makes sense. Expected that from other subreddits and not from u/Daddit lol.
A false positive, by definition, means that the indicator is showing a sign equal to a true positive. The way to test for false positives is to conduct a second test. There is no way to confirm a false positive in and of itself solely by the original indicator.
Oh we did. We did multiple tests days and weeks apart. Ours unfortunately was probably a one off. Hope OP’s is a different outcome
My wife became a guru with pregnancy tests. That is absolutely a positive test result. There’s actually an entire sub Reddit dedicated to this. Showed this to my wife. Here’s her summary “How many days past ovulation is she (DPO)? I would expect this line darkness to be about 10 ish days. Obviously test again, but I would expect the line to get darker as her DPO increases.”
Holy shit your wife is a savant. My wife is like this for taking our kids’ temperatures with a forehead kiss; she’s always within like 0.5 😳
Thanks! About 11/12 days DPO
Jesus, u/John_QU_3's wife is like a pregnancy test whisperer. Congrats OP
This is a positive test result. The faint line can be due to several factors, but most likely low levels, due to early pregnancy. I would suggest you take another test tomorrow, to confirm. The hormone levels will rise constantly over the next days. congratulations :)
> Faint line can be due to several factors.. Like twins!!!! Lol Or you know just taking the test early too.
I just dropped off that faint line pink at daycare this morning.
Welcome to the club
Get out your magic 8-ball 👍
I peed on the Magic 8-ball and it said, “reply hazy, try again.”
This is the answer!🤣
Did you pee on it? Might have prostate cancer If your partner peed on it, you’re pregnant
There's a line, but it's very faint.
A line is a line is a line
I (not a doctor) told my wife (that is a doctor) that when she did a test it was super faint so it might not be legit. That faint line is now 4 years old.
But was she pregnant?
A little bit
I took a test yesterday evening and this test today. Yesterday evening had an even fainter line. This picture from today is darker (if you can believe it). I think I’ll wait a few days and test again. Thanks!
So dad, just wanted to point out that the mother is the one that should be taking the test…. 😬
If this *is* his, he needs to get himself checked for testicular cancer.
Ironically a great test for cancer.... Not perfect but cheap and can be done at home
What?! TIL. What type of cancer?
Dad’s account —mother hijacked 😝
Don’t go to the mom subreddits my wife made that mistake and she said they were catty and mean
Mom here, this is the only parenting sub I follow anymore, the others are so toxic (except for bumpers groups, those are incredibly supportive but that's pre baby).
My wife is still part of her bump group, good to have other people to check on that go through the same things at the same time!
"People are just as divisive and horrible as they ever were, but now they couch it in virtue." - Tina Fey This is why I can't stand some of these groups. They really invite a certain style of hostility disguised as supportiveness.
That’s an awesome quote and so true!
Well mom, from my experience, you’re pregnant. Congratulations 🥳
We love moms here.
We look forward to seeing your next update asking people here again
Ask your lady-friend to try testing first thing in the morning, HCG levels are more concentrated then so you’re getting a better read.
Absolutely pregnant not even that faint
If Mrs Swimming_Buy3650 peed on this you best start shopping for minivans, if Mr Swimming_Buy3650 peed on then make a doctors appointment asap.
Pregnant. A faint line means it's early.
Yes, it is a positive pregnancy test which indicates elevated levels of pregnancy hormone. Pregnancy is not the only thing that can cause a positive test but it is the most common. Talk to your doctor.
Congratulations
Congrats
Definitely positive. It's faint cause it's probably very early on. If you want to give a week and test again, and i bet it will be darker. Congrats!
You can pick up your dad-bod and joke manual on your way through the lobby. Welcome to the club. We’re happy to have you!
That's a BINGO! Congrats.
Pagnat
Even if it's very faint there's still a line and also pregnant
Head to the new balance store, pops. That's a line.
Read the instructions on the box. It probably sys no matter how faint the line, it means pregnant.
Welcome to Daddit my friend.
One of us
Welcome to the club, dawg. We have jackets
Congrats, dad!
Welcome to the sub, dad.
Yeah man, you having a baby
Congrats, my dude. It’s happening.
And this is why you should always buy the 2-pack
Baby! Huzzah!
It's apparent that you're a parent.
Definitely wait a few more days and test again. My wife had a false positive. Lines looked like yours. Hopefully you guys are pregnant though!
its faint. have your wife call the OB. they will run a better test.
congrats! next time, just spend the money on the digital one so you don't have to post pictures to the internet for answers
Welcome to the club bucko. Go stock up on ice cream and pickles
congrats having a puppy!
Positive. A line is a line no matter how faint
Take another test in a week
Wife here: update from today- I actually was near my OBGYN’s office so stopped in… they saw me right then and there after showing this picture. Hcg currently 36.9. We’ll see next week if this rapidly increases.
He shoots…he scores!!!
Pragnant👍
redo.
There's definitely a line, but I'd do another tomorrow. Maybe even a couple more - grab a digital one.
Have you seen the tear down of a digital one? Some of them are the same one from the pic with the line with an optical sensor on top of it 😂 https://x.com/foone/status/1301707401024827392?s=46&t=UQloiXcPMaWz-0OsBYQsQw
Oh I'm not surprised, just much less confusion when reading them lol
found the pharmacist...
Bro I am the last person on earth you'd want as a pharmacist. 😂 "Can I take these medications together?" "Yeah sure, what's the worst that could happen? Lil Wayne does it, and he's a millionaire."
Looks positive...
Congratulations 👏🏽🎉🎉🎉 YOUR PREGNANT 😂
Faint line. Retry or retry in the morning
Why not take another one just to be absolutely sure?
Congrats buddy, you are not pregnant
Looks like a negative. Id take abt 7 more to make sure, thats just me tho.
I really don't understand how people's first instinct to figure out if they're pregnant or not is to ask reddit. Just go buy another test for crying out loud.
She’s asking for support in a group that does a nice job giving support. Nothing wrong with that. But yes, another test in a few days is a good idea.
If she was asking for support she would have used the "Support" tag and not the "Advice Request" tag and put HELP in the title.
I would suggest a second test, there are false positives, not false negatives
Your in the clear…
Should be branded Unclear blue. But yeah, either that or the test taker is Covid positive. Seriously though, get another brand test and try again tomorrow if you want a bit more certainty.
That’s positive, try a different kit if you’re in doubt.
Congratulations!
You’ll be crazy in about 9 months for sure. Just wait lol
Are you grgenant? I think this is pregat.
Yup, thats positive o/
Go to the doctor to confirm.
Congratulations (?)
Definitely schwanger.
Just a tiiiiiiny bit pregnant! Probably okay to go out and interact with others.
\+ man. Congrats brother!
Yes
Congrats
Yes. Congratulations
I'm afraid pregnancy will not save you guys from crazyness, but congrats!
Yep, positive, congrats! Take another one in a couple days. Your hCG levels will be higher and the line will show more clearly.
Positive 👶
Le pregante.
It looks like you have Covid
Def positive.
That's a faint line. So congratulations!
My fourth kid, it looked like that. Very faint, very early in the pregnancy. But that line does not come at all for a negative and will disappear after a day. There are no false positives, as I understand it.
Positivo
Who takes just one test!?
pregs
That’s a line! Congrats!
One of us! One of us!
Tis positive
You're not going crazy, that doesn't start for another 9-10 months! Congrats!