Clinical Pregnancy Tests

Programs offered by health care facilities that conduct laboratory tests to determine whether a woman is pregnant. Clinical pregnancy tests are more sensitive than home pregnancy test kits. They use a blood sample rather than urine and can detect not only the presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which is produced by the developing placenta beginning on the day on which the embryo implants in the uterine wall and is a positive or negative indicator of pregnancy, but also the amount or the hormone which can be used to determine the length of time the woman has been pregnant.