Pregnancy What Happens After You Get a Positive Pregnancy Test? You're pregnant: Now what? Whether planned or not, there are a few important steps you should think about and take after a positive pregnancy test. By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH Published on June 3, 2024 Reviewed by Rachel Gurevich, RN In This Article View All In This Article Call a Health Care Provider How to Confirm Your Results How to Process Your Pregnancy Educate Yourself Practice Self Care Find Support Enjoy Your Pregnancy Close It's normal for a positive pregnancy test to bring about a variety of emotions, worries, doubts, and anxiety. Whether this was a planned pregnancy or not, there are some important next steps you may want to take. If, like many people, you're not sure where to start, here's a handy list of things to do after a positive pregnancy test. Parents / Jessica Olah Call a Health Care Provider Make a prenatal appointment as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed or you suspect you are pregnant. Some health care providers may not schedule the first appointment until after you have missed two periods, while others have you come in right away. In some situations, it's a good idea to be seen earlier. If you have a history of the following, let a health care provider know: Previous pregnancy loss Complications like pain or bleeding Chronic health conditions, like diabetes or hypothyroidism Even if you don't have an early appointment, feel free to call with questions about things like medications you're currently taking, symptoms that are worrisome, or chronic health conditions that may impact your pregnancy. How to Confirm Your Results With at-home pregnancy tests, sometimes you may have doubts about the result. There are a few things to keep in mind as you evaluate your pregnancy test result. Check for evaporation lines Usually, when people wonder about false positives, they are concerned they are seeing an evaporation line. This is when a pregnancy test appears to be positive—there is a faint line of some sort—but it’s actually not a positive result. An evaporation line rarely has any color to it. It’s more like a faint line where you would expect to see a pink line. Evaporation lines are more common with certain brands of pregnancy tests and usually don’t appear on a test if you look at the recommended time. Most tests will tell you to look at your results between a time range of a few minutes. For example, the pregnancy test may instruct you to look at it three minutes after taking it but not after 10 minutes have passed. It’s important to follow these directions to prevent misreading your pregnancy test. Evaporation lines are not an issue with digital pregnancy tests. Digital tests display results as "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant." This is one of the advantages of digital tests, though they are usually more expensive. Consider false positives If your test is clearly positive, you’re very likely pregnant. False positive pregnancy tests are possible, but rare. However, there are some medications and medical conditions that can cause a false positive. For example, if your fertility treatment included a "trigger shot" of hCG, you could get a positive pregnancy test result that doesn’t actually indicate pregnancy. This is because hCG is the hormone that is being measured by the pregnancy test. Avoid this problem by waiting at least 10 days after your trigger shot before taking a pregnancy test. If you're having doubts, take another test or visit a health care provider. Observe pregnancy symptoms Pregnancy symptoms and signs are not accurate indicators of pregnancy. Some people never experience morning sickness or other symptoms, but they are just as pregnant as those who do. A lack of pregnancy symptoms doesn't mean you aren't pregnant. On the flip side, some people may experience cramping. Cramping may be pregnancy- and non-pregnancy-related. Causes could include: MenstruationPregnancy pelvic discomfortAbdominal tension from anxiety Also, if you’ve taken fertility drugs, your ovaries may still be swollen from the stimulation. Mild ovarian hyperstimulation (OHSS) can cause pelvic discomfort and bloat. OHSS can be monitored or treated by a health care provider. If your cramps are intense or severe or accompanied by other worrisome symptoms like spotting or vaginal bleeding, contact your doctor. Compare blood pregnancy test results A blood pregnancy test can confirm your pregnancy in a health care priovider's office. If the health care provider ordered a qualitative pregnancy test, as opposed to a quantitative pregnancy test, your blood test may come out negative while your at-home test can be positive. A qualitative pregnancy test: Only gives a positive or negative result and often requires a higher level of pregnancy hormone than many at-home early pregnancy tests. A quantitative pregnancy test: Can sometimes detect pregnancy hormones before an at-home test can. Most fertility doctors will order a quantitative pregnancy test, which measures how much hCG is circulating. This is usually followed by another test a few days later to see how quickly the hCG levels are increasing (a sign of a healthy pregnancy). It is also possible, if your blood test came back with a very early positive, that you can get a negative test at home a few days later because of an early miscarriage. In this case, your period will probably start soon. In either case, consult a health care provider about why the results may be different. Week 1 of Your Pregnancy How to Process Your Pregnancy You may experience a range of emotions as you consider the news and its impact on your life. Allow yourself to react in whatever way feels natural. Consider your options Not everyone has a planned pregnancy or is immediately happy with this news. Give yourself grace as you process the news. Being pregnant is a big deal and may come with a big range of emotions. Sometimes, even if you were trying to conceive, you may feel overwhelmed or find yourself second-guessing your plans. If this is an unplanned pregnancy, take some time to let the news sink in while considering what to do. Carefully think about all of the options, including: Adoption Abortion Parenting The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) suggests discussing your options with a counselor or social services worker if you need information or guidance. Support groups for people dealing with adoption, abortion, or becoming new parents are also available. The AAFP website provides a national database of these groups. Celebrate While you shouldn't have alcoholic beverages during pregnancy, that doesn't mean you should stop having fun. A glass of sparkling cider is a great way to liven up the night and toast your new bundle of joy. While some people plan a romantic dinner to surprise their partners with the news of the pregnancy, others have bigger parties. How and when you celebrate may depend on many factors. Either way, remember that having fun is a great part of pregnancy. Share your news For many people, telling family and friends about your new family addition can be fun and exciting. Some families wait until after 12 weeks, the first ultrasound, or a special date to begin telling everyone. Others begin sharing the news right away. There isn't a right or a wrong way to do it—choose what's best for you. Your Pregnancy To-Do Checklist Educate Yourself You will want to know what to expect in your pregnancy week by week. Sign up for an early pregnancy class where you can ask questions and get in-person responses. Both in-person and online resources will give you the knowledge to start making the appropriate decisions for you and your baby. Pregnancy books are also a great source of knowledge about pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Practice Self Care Getting a good night's sleep, eating well, taking a prenatal vitamin, and exercising safely can all help ensure a successful pregnancy, easier labor, and a healthy baby. Listening to your body's signals, whether it be morning sickness or exhaustion, will help you cope more easily with symptoms of pregnancy. Your doctor can schedule successive pregnancy blood tests to make sure your hormone levels are increasing as they should and that your pregnancy is healthy. Ultrasounds and physical exams can also confirm that all is well with your pregnancy. Find Support Whether you're talking to your family or friends, support is a must-have for anyone who is pregnant. So much will change in your life, and you'll have many questions. You will need to surround yourself with people who can help you talk things through. Sometimes, that will be a health care provider, and other times, that will be your friends and family. Consider finding others who are due when you are due to share the ups and downs of pregnancy. These friendships can last a lifetime and are often helpful. Enjoy Your Pregnancy After all, it's only nine or 10 months. While the end of pregnancy seems really far away, it does arrive more quickly than many parents anticipate. Planning ahead and preparing for the baby a little bit every month will help prevent a panicked feeling towards the end of pregnancy when some parents "wake up" and realize that there are only a few short weeks before the baby arrives. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources Parents uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Having a Baby. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2022. Strips of hope: accuracy of home pregnancy tests and new developments. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2014. Risk Factors and Methods for Predicting Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) in the in vitro Fertilization. Archives of Razi Institute. 2021. Options for unintended pregnancy. Am Fam Physician. 2015.