What is the sugar pregnancy test?
What is the Sugar Pregnancy Test?
A wide range of home pregnancy tests available today. Women who are eagerly waiting to see the appearance of a plus sign or a second pink link on that home pregnancy test, usually never give a second thought to wonder how these home pregnancy tests work. [1] These home pregnancy tests actually work on a simple chemical reaction. They detect the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). hCG is the primary pregnancy hormone that is produced by the body as soon as the newly fertilized egg successfully implants into the lining of the uterus. [2]
It is this hormone that reacts with the strips of the home pregnancy test and produces either the plus sign of the second line. [3] Since it is a chemical reaction, one can reason that you might be able to produce this same reaction using other substances found in the house as well.
The sugar pregnancy test is a type of do-it-yourself pregnancy detection technique that has been growing in popularity in recent times. Given in the sections below is everything you need to know about the DIY sugar pregnancy test.
The sugar pregnancy test is a type of do-it-yourself (DIY) home pregnancy test that involves mixing your urine with sugar to determine if you are pregnant. [4] Supporters of the sugar pregnancy test believe that this DIY home pregnancy test can detect the presence of the hCG hormone, produced during pregnancy. [5]
How do you do the sugar pregnancy test?
How to do the Sugar Pregnancy Test?
Similar to other homemade pregnancy tests, the sugar pregnancy test also makes use of things that can be found in typical households. For doing the sugar pregnancy test, you will need the following:
● A clean bowl
● A clean container for collecting your urine
● Sugar (white table sugar will do)
Remember that it is best to use the first-morning urine to get the most accurate results. [6] Here’s how to do the sugar pregnancy test:
● Put a few spoonfuls of sugar into a clean bowl.
● Collect your urine into the container and pour it over the sugar.
● Wait for a couple of minutes, but do not mix or stir the mixture.
How to tell a positive result
What does a positive result look like?
If you are pregnant and hCG is present in your urine, then the sugar will not dissolve as it usually would. [7] Supporters of the sugar pregnancy test say that the sugar will start to clump, thus indicating pregnancy.
So if you are doing the sugar pregnancy test, in a positive result, you will see clumps of sugar forming at the bottom of the bowl. There is no clarification about whether these will be small or large clumps, but you will definitely see undissolved sugar.
What does a Negative Result look like?
The pregnancy hormone hCG is unique in that it has the ability to dissolve in sugar. Even though urine contains more than 3,000 other compounds, many of which also depends on what you have eaten, DIY homemade pregnancy test supporters claim that urine from a non-pregnant woman will end up dissolving the sugar. [8]
This means that if you are not pregnant, then the sugar should dissolve when you pour your urine over it, and you will not see any clumps forming in the bowl.
See: Ayurveda Treatment For PCOS Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
Is the sugar pregnancy test accurate?
There is no scientific explanation of how or why this works. Advocates of the sugar pregnancy test firmly believe that the hormone hCG makes it more difficult for the sugar to dissolve in urine, causing multiple lumps to form. However, this is simply speculation. There is no real evidence to demonstrate that the sugar pregnancy test actually works.
There have been no studies done on whether sugar pregnancy tests are accurate, and no major medical body recommends the use of this DIY pregnancy test. This is why you cannot depend on the sugar pregnancy test to tell you whether you are pregnant or not. There is no scientific explanation or evidence for the sugar pregnancy test.
Furthermore, anecdotally speaking as well, supporters and testers claim to have gotten mixed results. Many have reported experiencing sugar clumping but then finding out that they are not pregnant.
Additionally, there is also no evidence or reason to believe that the hormone hCG can make alone make the sugar dissolve in your urine, as on any given day, the composition of urine differs. There can be many reasons that prevent the sugar from dissolving in the urine or cause it to dissolve in the urine.
At the same time, though, there are several accounts of supporters who have seen the sugar dissolve in the urine, and then taken a store-bought home pregnancy test, and gotten a positive result. This has fueled the popularity of the sugar pregnancy test online in recent years. Remember that there can only be two possible outcomes of taking any type of home pregnancy test – either you will be pregnant or not. Any test will be bound to give accurate results at least 50 percent of the time. There is always some chance that you might just find yourself getting the correct result from the sugar pregnancy test.
See: Natural Remedies For PMS Premenstrual Syndrome Symptoms
Chemistry of the sugar pregnancy test
How do home pregnancy tests work, to begin with? The abrupt appearance of a plus sign or second pink line may seem downright magical. The entire process is extremely scientific and is essentially a chemical reaction. A few weeks after the implantation of the newly fertilized egg in your uterus, your body will start generating the pregnancy hormone known as hCG.
Human chorionic gonadotrophin is quantified using a technique called an immunoassay, which requires a complex reaction involving the hormone and various protein antibodies. After urine, containing hCG, is applied to the test strip, a reaction occurs which causes a part of the stick to change color thus signaling the hormone is present and that the woman is pregnant.
Many believe that you might have the ability to make this chemical reaction using common substances you have around the home. A homemade chemistry experiment avoids the trip to the shop and the cost of home pregnancy test strips. The sugar pregnancy test is a DIY evaluation that involves combining your urine with sugar to tell if you’re pregnant. Advocates assert that, like pharmacy home pregnancy tests, the sugar pregnancy test can detect the existence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).
Summary
Conclusion
Medical experts say that you should not be taking the sugar pregnancy test even if you have been waiting for the good news of a positive pregnancy. There is no reliable evidence to show that the test works, and the chances are very high that you will get an inaccurate result.
If you want to try out the sugar pregnancy test just for fun, then supporters of the test recommend taking it first thing in the morning. This is when the level of hCG in your urine is the most concentrated, and this is when the chances of this DIY test being effective is the highest. This is only a speculation, and no one can say accurately whether taking the sugar pregnancy test first thing in the morning will actually work or not. No matter when you take the test, if you have been trying to get pregnant, then you should always re-check your results with a blood test at the doctor’s clinic or with a store-bought home pregnancy test.
