Toothpaste – it’s not just for cleaning teeth.
Apparently, you can use a dab of toothpaste to determine whether or not you may be up the duff.
Of course, going to the doctor or using a home pregnancy kit is probably going to be the safer, more reliable option than the toothpaste pregnancy test. But, hey, if you don’t have one handy and need to know RIGHT THIS SECOND, then reach for the toothpaste!
Many mums swear by this DIY pregnancy test method. And all you need to do the test? A couple of clean, disposable cups, some cheap toothpaste and your urine.
Let’s get this minty pregnancy party started:
Step one: Wake up and wee into a clean plastic cup.
Step two: In another clean cup, squeeze in some toothpaste. Stick to the plain white kind. No fancy stripes or whitening solutions allowed.
Step three: Start pouring your pee into the toothpaste cup. You want to make sure the amount of urine and toothpaste is the same, so you only need a little bit of wee. Or a lot of toothpaste.
Step four: Make a urine-toothpaste paste and leave it for three to five minutes.
Step five: Have a look at the mixture. Did it do anything? If it looks like a minty mixture of pee and toothpaste (and nothing more), then you’re probably not pregnant. If it goes frothy and has a bit of a blue tinge to it, then, congrats, you could be cleaning your teeth for two from now on!
Okay, so let’s not beat around the bush here – toothpaste to test pregnancy sounds about as accurate as using baking soda to determine the gender of your baby. But, hey, it’s always fun to see if it works (especially if you have already confirmed you’re preggo!).
How does toothpaste test for pregnancy?
It works along the same lines as other pregnancy tests where the HCG (the pregnancy hormone) reacts with the substance. The frothiness indicates that, yep, there is HCG present in your pee. Or so it is meant to.
According to naturopath and doula, Marta Browne, toothpaste and other DIY tests should really only be used for fun.
“The bottom line on DIY pregnancy tests is that they don’t measure HCG,” Marta tells Mum Central. “They are great for something fun to do or had a few too many champagnes, but don’t rely on them to give an accurate assessment!
“A home urine pregnancy test is generally plus 95 per cent accurate after about a week or two, while a blood test will give more accurate results even a few days after a missed period. These are the two main methods that should be relied upon for determining pregnancy.”
Doctors (not pregnancy tests or toothpaste) know best
But even retail pregnancy tests are not fool proof. The TGA previously administered a mass recall of 14 different pregnancy tests sold in Australia.
The kits were recalled for not accurately detecting the hCG hormone, thus giving women false negatives. Some of the brands that didn’t make the grade include One Step, PregSure and First Response, though the TGA says all tests on the market now comply.
So if you’ve got the sore boobs, the heightened sense of smell, a skipped period (or can’t remember the last time you had one, which, let’s face it, happens, especially when you have kids to organise), it’s probably best to give your doctor a buzz.
But, hey, if you want to test out the toothpaste theory, give it a go. We’d love to know just how accurate it is (and no, I’m not falling pregnant just to find out).
While we’re on the topic of toothpaste, have a look at these nine toothpaste hacks that will forever change the way you look at Colgate.
