What the faint line on your pregnancy test really means
Polly Logan-Banks
Content EditorDiscover what a faint pink or blue line on your pregnancy test REALLY means, and find out how to tell for sure if you're pregnant.
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Your period's late (or perhaps you're having other early signs of pregnancy), you've taken a test to find out for sure, and... the line's so faint it's almost invisible!
This is a common issue faced by parents-to-be in the Netmums forum, so we've dug into the research to find out exactly what a faint line on a pregnancy test really means.
There's a faint line on my test – am I pregnant?
If you've taken the test properly, there's a very good chance that you are.
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A very faint pink or blue line usually means that you're in the early stages of pregnancy; you've started producing pregnancy hormones, but there's not yet enough of them in your system to give a clear result on a test.
If you've had a faint positive, the best way to find out for sure is to test again in a few days or so, when hormone levels will be higher. It also helps to test using your first wee of the day, when the concentration of hCG hormones will be higher.
What about evaporation lines?
An evaporation line is a very faint, usually colourless line, that can sometimes appear on a pregnancy test after the urine evaporates, especially if you've waited too long to check the test results.
That's why it's always important to follow the instructions on your pregnancy test carefully. Most tests will advise that you check the results after 2-5 minutes. If you wait longer than the recommended time, your urine could evaporate, and you're more likely to see an evaporation line.
If you've left it too long to check your pregnancy test, do another one and check within the recommended timeframe.
Why do faint lines happen on pregnancy tests?
Pregnancy tests check for the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin).
Once you've conceived a baby and it's implanted in your womb, the levels of hCG in your body will gradually rise. Usually, hCG levels peak at about 8-11 weeks of pregnancy.
If you get a faint line on a pregnancy test, it probably means that you're still in the early days. The test has picked up a small amount of hCG in your body, but not enough to give a strong result.
In the first 4 weeks of pregnancy, the amount of hCG in your body doubles every couple of days. So if you test again in a few days – or leave it a week if you can bear it – you should get a more accurate result then.
A faint line can happen on almost any kind of pregnancy test, from major brands such as Clear Blue, First Response and Clear and Simple, to own-brand tests such as those from Boots, Superdrug and Tesco. They all work in a similar way, testing for hGC levels.
However, some pregnancy tests are more sensitive than others. If you want to re-test, you could look out for a pregnancy test that's specifically designed to give early results. Or opt for a digital test, where faint lines won't be an issue; instead, these tests show an estimate of how many weeks pregnant you are.
What does a faint line on a pregnancy test look like?
Sometimes the line on your pregnancy test or strip can be extremely faint – almost invisible! The line may be pink or blue, depending on the type of test you're using.
Here are some photos from users in our forum – all of these pregnancies were later confirmed.
Is that really a faint line?
Trying for a baby can be a very emotional time, and if you're desperate for that BFP (big fat positive), wishful thinking can make it hard to trust your own eyes when you're looking at a test. Similarly, if you don't want to be pregnant, anxiety could have the same effect.
Some women take a photo of their test, then use image-editing software to turn up the contrast (this is known as pregnancy test tweaking). This may make any extremely faint lines easier to see. However, there's no scientific evidence that this is accurate, so any results should be interpreted with caution.
If you want a second opinion, post a pic of your test on our pregnancy tests forum board, where other Netmums members will be happy to give their opinion.
If your second test is negative
If you think you've seen a faint line on a pregnancy test, then waited a few days for your hCG levels to rise and taken another test, it can be confusing or upsetting to see no line at all.
If this happens, the first thing to do is to take another test. It's possible that the second test could be faulty, or otherwise giving a false negative. You may want to wait an extra day or two, so that your hCG levels will be higher if you are pregnant, making a positive test more likely.
If you've taken a couple of tests, and there's no line at all on either of them, chances are that you're not pregnant. It could be that the faint line you saw was actually an evaporation line or another problem with the test, and you were never actually pregnant at all.
Sadly, as many as 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage (according to Tommy's). When this happens before about 5 weeks, it's known as a 'chemical pregnancy'. This means that egg and sperm did meet, but the embryo wasn't able to implant and start growing.
Most couples who experience a miscarriage or chemical pregnancy will later go on to have a perfectly healthy pregnancy if they keep trying for a baby.
If you think you might have had a miscarriage, and want support, you can contact Tommy's on 0800 014 7800 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), or email midwife@tommys.org.
This article was medically reviewed by Netmums' midwife Sarah Joy Owen on 17/01/2022.
Learn more about pregnancy tests and hCG, and get TTC support in our friendly forum:
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