Teh One Who Knocks
07-08-2015, 11:29 AM
Emi Komiya, 12 News
http://i.imgur.com/FJ2Vkii.jpg
The world of soon-to-be mothers is calling it "tweaking." Popular parenting community pages are apparently not new to the practice of altering images of pregnancy tests to get quicker results.
Confusing right? Here's the basic explanation.
When a woman takes a pregnancy test, the strip in the at-home test is looking for human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) levels. The problem is these levels are not detectable until a couple of weeks after the egg is fertilized. This means a whole lot of anxious waiting for results.
Now women are turning to "tweaking" where they take a photographic image of the at-home result and photo shop it in an effort to expose that second little pink line that indicates you're pregnant. There are even apps and baby forums where you can share your picture to be altered and photo shopped for you. The problem is there is no way of knowing how accurate this 'earlier result' is.
http://i.imgur.com/stLqALu.jpg
Babycenter.com has open forums
where women looking to conceive
can ask for pregnancy tests to be
"tweaked". (Photo: 12 News screenshot,
Babycenter.com)
Photo shopping the strip might get a visibly negative test to display a faint second line that may not be noticeable to the naked eye. This now seemingly 'positive' test might provide false hope for an expectant mother since it could be an indicator of a chemical pregnancy.
"There can be what we call false positives," Sims said. "The other problem is a woman has what we call a chemical pregnancy, which means that- yes the egg is fertilized but for some reason, that's the end of the cell division."
The likelihood of getting a false positive from a chemical pregnancy increases with a test that has been "tweaked." Sims says this can result in serious emotional consequences for someone who is trying to conceive.
One in eight pregnancies results in a miscarriage, according to Sims. There are several explanations that could lead someone to a "false-positive" result like "the photo shop process itself that is so good at enhancing things that aren't there," the dye within the test strip might run, or the test somehow outdated so the results are not conclusive, according to Sims.
In other words, that faint pink line might get you a desired result days earlier but it's not fool-proof. Sims says that at-home pregnancy tests are generally accurate but that they should be followed up with a doctor's visit.
"The first part of being a parent is learning patience," Sims said. "It's a hard lesson to learn. So why not start with the pregnancy test. Have patience."
http://i.imgur.com/FJ2Vkii.jpg
The world of soon-to-be mothers is calling it "tweaking." Popular parenting community pages are apparently not new to the practice of altering images of pregnancy tests to get quicker results.
Confusing right? Here's the basic explanation.
When a woman takes a pregnancy test, the strip in the at-home test is looking for human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) levels. The problem is these levels are not detectable until a couple of weeks after the egg is fertilized. This means a whole lot of anxious waiting for results.
Now women are turning to "tweaking" where they take a photographic image of the at-home result and photo shop it in an effort to expose that second little pink line that indicates you're pregnant. There are even apps and baby forums where you can share your picture to be altered and photo shopped for you. The problem is there is no way of knowing how accurate this 'earlier result' is.
http://i.imgur.com/stLqALu.jpg
Babycenter.com has open forums
where women looking to conceive
can ask for pregnancy tests to be
"tweaked". (Photo: 12 News screenshot,
Babycenter.com)
Photo shopping the strip might get a visibly negative test to display a faint second line that may not be noticeable to the naked eye. This now seemingly 'positive' test might provide false hope for an expectant mother since it could be an indicator of a chemical pregnancy.
"There can be what we call false positives," Sims said. "The other problem is a woman has what we call a chemical pregnancy, which means that- yes the egg is fertilized but for some reason, that's the end of the cell division."
The likelihood of getting a false positive from a chemical pregnancy increases with a test that has been "tweaked." Sims says this can result in serious emotional consequences for someone who is trying to conceive.
One in eight pregnancies results in a miscarriage, according to Sims. There are several explanations that could lead someone to a "false-positive" result like "the photo shop process itself that is so good at enhancing things that aren't there," the dye within the test strip might run, or the test somehow outdated so the results are not conclusive, according to Sims.
In other words, that faint pink line might get you a desired result days earlier but it's not fool-proof. Sims says that at-home pregnancy tests are generally accurate but that they should be followed up with a doctor's visit.
"The first part of being a parent is learning patience," Sims said. "It's a hard lesson to learn. So why not start with the pregnancy test. Have patience."