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Content: Quite simply, a home pregnancy test detects the presence of a hormone in your urine called human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG. HCG is a pregnancy hormone that a woman's body starts producing when a fertilized egg implants in her uterus. In most women, this implantation and subsequent hCG production, occurs up to six days after sperm and egg meet. Because of this, many women will get the MOST accurate result if they take the home pregnancy test a full week AFTER their missed period. Although many tests claim that they are "99 percent accurate" as soon as the FIRST day your period is due or earlier. That's because some technically pregnant women may not have experienced implantation by this day in their cycle. Plus, the amount of HCG that a woman makes may be so minute at first, that a home pregnancy test won't be sensitive enough to detect it. When you do take your home pregnancy test, you'll get the best results if you test first thing in the morning, when your urine is the most concentrated. Since tests work in various ways, make sure to read the instructions and pick the one you think will work best for you. Whatever the test results say, you should still take another pregnancy test in a few days to confirm.