Fertility tests are about 90% accurate, based upon the listing within the pamphlet insertion. It isn't as simple as just saying, "It's likely to be correct," though. Fertility tests can be a little more complicated than just peeing on a stick once or twice as a person does with a pregnancy test.
You should purchase the fertility tests that have the most testing sticks. I am thinking they come in packs of 20 some or 30, or so. This is so that you can test every single day you aren't on your period to see if you have ovulated. You start taking the tests every single morning from the day your period ends until the day your period begins again.
Test your first morning urine. As soon as you wake up, pee on the stick. Do just as directed. Some need 5 minutes to give an accurate read. It will tell you what things mean. Mine showed 2 lines if I had ovulated and 1 line if I hadn't.
One month doesn't tell you how your cycle is though. On average, a woman doesn't even ovulate 2 months out of the typical year. So, you could very well take the fertility testing this month, never get a "positive" result, and assume you never ovulate. It wouldn't be accurate though.
The same goes with fluctuations.
The ovulation or menstrual cycle isn't always 100% stable. Every second or third month you, yourself, may ovulate 1 day later than the other months.
This is why it's important to test for 6 months straight. You get an idea of, "Oh, I nearly always ovulate on day 14!" or, "Oh, every other month I ovulate on day 12, but, otherwise, it's day 14." I know it doesn't sound like a day or two makes a big difference, but when you're trying to get pregnant (or not get pregnant) it's a huge deal.
So, 90% is their guesstimate that it will be fairly accurate based on the rest of your cycle, if you are a typical woman. There is at least the 10% chance that this particular month your cycle was completely different, you know?
There are a lot of things that could be different for you though. I, personally, ovulate much later than other women (and I would have never guessed). Some women ovulate more than once a month. Some women only ovulate every other month. Some women ovulate very early into their cycle. Heck, some women ovulate during their periods (uncommon, but happens). You could be a woman who ovulates on day 14 this month, but for the next 3 months you ovulate on an entirely different date, you know?
It's important to follow the testing through if you're serious about figuring our your "most fertile day."
If you don't take the testing for the full month then I'm sure the percentage of accuracy is lower.
If the test reads a clear positive then it's fairly accurate.
If the test doesn't read positive for an entire month then you could have purchased something defective.
Obviously there are a lot of factors. If you take the testing for a solid 6 months, every day you aren't menstruating, then you'll have a WONDERFUL idea of your own cycle. Every woman should know their bodies in this sense! [ Peeps's advice column | Ask Peeps A Question ]
gr8fruit answered Sunday November 28 2010, 7:04 pm: Hey there,
As I have read on the internet: First response, after having studies done on it, is 80% accurate if you take it the first one or two days after your missed period. Also, the best time to take a fertility test is not in the first few days, but one week after your missed period. If you take a fertility test one week after your missed period, you then have a 90%-99% accuracy <3
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