Here's something I don't understand - why do we have pregnancy test kits?

[Rabrrrrrr]

What's the purpose?

If you're pregnant, you're gonna know it pretty soon anyway, so save the $15.

If you're not pregnant, you're gonna know it pretty soon anyway, so save the $15.

How are tens of millions of women benefiting from these things? I could see maybe a few women, who might need to know pronto about pregnancy if they are in a position that they'd need to abort it. But even then, I'd think a trip to an abortion clinic would let one know whether one is pregnant.

Seriously - is this an industry that offers any value whatsoever, other than "getting the news before the doctor"? I don't think it does.

Humanity did just fine for tens of thousands of years without these landfill filling things.

Or maybe I'm missing something truly of cosmic importance here.

[Arugula Latte]

1. Getting the results at home, in privacy, is soooooo worth it.

Believe me, I've used these things a few times ... in one case hoping for a negative (when I was younger), and then hoping for a positive. (Two kids later ... ) :) I'm so glad I had the option of knowing almost instantly, and not taking the time to officially visit a doctor and wait on them to get around to telling me the results.

Plus, the earlier you know, the sooner you can stop teh drinkin' and such, if you're going to go through with the pregnancy.

[PeaceNikki]

3. This is the right answer.

Knowing right away AND in private in order to properly process is VERY important.

[Shakespeare]

2. If abortion is a consideration, you want confirmation as soon as possible. n/t

[Fran Kubelik]

4. in my experience, obstetricians don't want to see you until you're 8 weeks along

If you're trying to get pregnant, you need to know before that. Like was already said - you want to stop drinking booze and coffee, etc.

[Kali]

15. If you are TRYING you might want to stop the vices well in advance

not when you find out.

[Fran Kubelik]

28. right, agreed

Though many friends have tried for over a year. It's not always easy to give those things up when you have no idea if/when you will succeed.

[bicentennial_baby]

33. And also, living as if you are pg, as in no vices, etc

when you've been trying for a long time, can make each successive negative cycle more frustrating than the last.

[Fran Kubelik]

45. I've had a lot of friends go through that.

:hug:

[Midlodemocrat]

41. And, if the pregnancy is a bit of a surprse, start taking Pre-Natal vitamins.

Midlets 1 and 3 were a surprise, so I wasn't taking the vitamins until after I took a pregnancy test.

#2 was planned, so I was already on them.

[From The Ashes]

5. because...

...my daughter in law wanted to know, and it's the weekend, so...

[Chan790]

6. confused...

your DIL wanted to know if you were pregnant? Did you tell her to MYOB?

[From The Ashes]

8. sorry...

...she wanted to know if she was pregnant. If I were pregnant I'd faint, since I'm long past that age.

[Chan790]

9. oh.

Congrats! or I'm sorry!

(I'm not sure if this is good news or bad. Good, I'm hoping.)

[hippywife]

7. In addition to all of the above...

some women may miss a period or two and still not be pregnant.

[MissMillie]

30. yep, very true

It was true for me!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

10. Oh Rabrrrrrrrrrrr

you are so manly!!

of course, you wouldn't understand :rofl:

[mopinko]

11. they are cheaper, as well

but yeah, they are a great thing. waiting around for your period to start for weeks and weeks can be hard on ya.

[MonkeyFunk]

12. So you know whether to have that third

Long Island Iced Tea or not.

[LeftyMom]

13. The best ones cost $1 or two, and aren't bulky.

http://www.babyhopes.com/pregnancy-test-sensitivity.html

The best ones are aimsticks (doctors use these, you can order them online for a buck and change) which detect hCG at 20 miu. They're about the size of a coffee stir stick cut in half, so I rather doubt they're clogging up landfills in any significant way. Slightly less decent tests can be a bit bulkier (those overpriced "digital +/-" tests especially) but even the largest are the size of a digital thermometer or a few credit cards stacked together, and considering that even the most obsessive tester might use one or two a month while trying to get pregnant, not exactly huge contributors to the waste stream.

It's a good idea (and a hell of a stress reliever) to know what's up with your body. Some reproductive problems can cause absent periods, and a pregnancy test would be the obvious way to tell a woman who isn't ovulating due to PCOS or some other problem from one who is simply pregnant. Likewise, if a woman is pregnant she should know that in order to take the appropriate precautions (avoiding alcohol, many medications, some risky foods) and have time to arrange for appropriate medical care. Women who know they're pregnant early can take their time finding a provider, argue with insurance to get their favorite covered, switch if they're not happy, etc. Women who wait until they have obvious physical symptoms (which may not happen until the end of the first trimester) have much more limited options.

[trackfan]

14. To a shy person like me, any avoidance of a trip to the doctor,

or anywhere else for that matter, is a good thing. Also, if you go to the doctor, they're probably going to find something wrong with you - like high blood pressure, or some shit like that - that actually isn't wrong with you, but that they know they can always find or concoct an excuse to charge you for, because they are in it to make a profit rather than to give you a true answer; so they,ll come up with something and you will end up paying for some shit that you don't need, but that the fucked up need for profit everywhere supports, and you will be out of pocket a lot of money that you could have saved by just buying a test at the supermarket and not having to go through the horrifying stress of going to the doctor's office.

[amitten]

16. In certain situations, if you're hoping against hope you're NOT

pregnant, you damn well want to know it as SOON AS FUCKING POSSIBLE. Because in the meantime, you are worried sick.

And going to a clinic takes ten times the time and money. Not worth it. (Oh, and the waste generated at a clinic ends up in a landfill somewhere too, y'know).

[MicaelS]

17. Even I, who tends to be your stereotypical ignorant male

About female issues gets this one Rabrrrrrr. Plenty of good replies in this thread, I won't repeat them.

Face it my friend, you are CLUELESS. :wtf:

[Blue_Tires]

18. you've never had to deal with the 'close call' when you were

in the late teens/early 20s? twice in college i had major scares, and me and my gf had to find out ASAP...(both were negative, of course)

we did consider trying a family planning clinic, but many of them (especially in the south) are not always easily accessible, or are watched constantly in communities that gossip...not only that, this was not long after the time when there was a series of bombings/arson/shootings/photography at clinics...

[BarenakedLady]

19. If you are desperately trying to get pregnant,

You want to know ASAP.

If you desperately do not want to be preggos, you want to know ASAP.

Not so hard to understand.

[Fleshdancer]

20. You know to no longer drink or smoke and you realize it's not the stomach flu

Many women have irregular periods so being late or missing a period may not be much of a clue. Why make an appointment and pay $20 for a co-pay if you have insurance or $50-$100 if you don't have insurance when you can simply pee on a stick, find out in a few minutes in the privacy of your own home, and only pay $15 for it?

[lildreamer316]

21. Pretty soon anyway = 5 months pregnant for me. By then,I had to start making plans...

I had NO IDEA I was pregnant - we were using protection and bc, and I still had cycles for a few months. Therefore I had no reason to get a test. If I had taken a test,maybe we wouldn't have been so suprised.

But, hey....it's all very ok now. :)

[Schema Thing]

44. I think most women have a word for people like you

And that word is "lucky bitch!"

no morning sickness? no showing? Damn, you're good ;)

[bridgit]

22. sexism at it's most banal...

keep up the good work :thumbsup: humanity did just fine without fetal monitors for 10's of thousands of years; Flintstone band-aids, hemostats...where's the outrage :headbang:

[Skittles]

24. mmmmm.......ignorance more than sexism bridgit

the words of someone who never had that big giant fear of thinking they may be pregnant

[bridgit]

26. Ding! Little bits of Juno here & there, m'dear one, little bits here & there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0SKf0K3bxg :hi:

[Skittles]

23. only a man could ask this question

I mean, really

[Lil Missy]

25. Yeah, really. *sigh*

He's usually pretty clever and on the mark.

I trust you will take care of the ASS KICKING for this one.

I'm at a loss for words ....

[Skittles]

27. I'm a Rabrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr fan

I won't break his arm; I will just bend it a little :7

[Rabrrrrrr]

37. Thanks for not kicking my ass, Skittles!

:yourock:

[bicentennial_baby]

32. Thank you!

:crazy:

[DS1]

29. Because the partying you're going to do when it comes up negative

is easily worth the 15 dollars.

[Zuiderelle]

31. You think a "trip to an abortion clinic" would be easier and less expensive than a kit?

:rofl:

[Rabrrrrrr]

36. I neither said it was easier nor cheaper.

Highlight the sentence(s) where I said that, and I'll answer you.

Otherwise, I can only say - please read what I actually said, not what you wish I had said.

[Zuiderelle]

38. "But even then, I'd think a trip to an abortion clinic would let one know whether one is pregnant."

"I could see maybe a few women, who might need to know pronto about pregnancy if they are in a position that they'd need to abort it. But even then, I'd think a trip to an abortion clinic would let one know whether one is pregnant."

I guess you saying that some women would need to know pronto, and could just go to an abortion clinic, is what made me conclude that you thought it was be easier (i.e. faster, more pronto) to get results at an abortion clinic.

The part about "cheaper" I'm deriving from you mentioning the cost of the kits in the OP.

Ergo... it seemed to me that you were saying that you didn't understand why they had the kits since they were so expensive, yet you seemed to think that women could just go to an abortion clinic instead. Which is not easy or cheap.

[Rabrrrrrr]

39. No, you read an awful lot into that that wasn't there.

Although there could potentially be savings in terms of cost of test + cost of clinic versus just cost of clinic. But not necessarily so.

[Zuiderelle]

40. I really don't think I read into it.

But maybe it's because I'm a woman. It just struck me funny that you would suggest that going to an abortion clinic would be a viable alternative to a pregnancy test. Personally, I took a couple of pregnancy tests when I was younger in order to AVOID such a traumatic trip.

No biggie.

[Shell Beau]

34. You'd be surprised at how long it would take

some women to find out. Pregnancy symptoms and premenstrual symptoms are very similar. Some women can go for a few months not knowing they are pregnant. The sooner you know and can start prenatal care the better.

[Rabrrrrrr]

35. Thanks for the answers, everyone - I've learned a fair amount.

Mostly, it seems that women like them just to know before heading off to the doctor either so that they just know from wanting to know as soon as possible, or so they can start making some life changes well before they would otherwise know if they were pregnant.

I can see that. I also had failed to realize that even months after impregnation, one might not necessarily know.

Thanks to everyone who treated this as a legitimate question, even though I worded it rather snarkily.

I like learning things.

:thumbsup:

[LynneSin]

42. Rabrrrrrr, you have GOT to be fucking kidding me with this post

Clearly you are a man or you would recognize the stupidity of what you asked.

I've never had kids, never been pregnant and never had to buy a pregnancy kit and even I know why they are important

Geez!!

[Schema Thing]

43. 'Cuz they put locks on the dumpsters on Prom night 'round here.

:shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

46. Well, it's best to start taking pre-natal vitamins as early as possible.

And stop alcohol and tobacco use.

:shrug:

[DarkTirade]

47. For the teenager who missed her period and needs to know, it can save a LOT of time and stress.