Pregnancy testing

If you think you might be pregnant, you can make an appointment at any of the Public Health sexual and reproductive health clinics for a pregnancy test.

Some common pregnancy symptoms include nausea, tender or painful breasts, tiredness, and/or frequent urination. The pregnancy test that Public Health clinics use is a urine test—it is very fast (3 minutes) and very accurate, and can usually determine if you're pregnant within 1 or 2 days of a missed period.

A negative pregnancy test

A negative pregnancy test after a missed period means you're NOT pregnant. Remember, if you've had sex without birth control in the last 2 weeks, you might be pregnant but it could be too early for detection by the urine pregnancy test. The clinic staff can talk to you about when you should repeat the pregnancy test to be sure you're not pregnant.

If you are interested in avoiding pregnancy right now, clinic staff can:

• Help you decide on a birth control method that is right for you
• Offer you emergency contraception if you've had sex without birth control in the last 5 days
• Test you for STDs or help you make an appointment for another day
• Do your annual exam (Pap) or help you make an appointment for another day

If you are trying to get pregnant, clinic staff can:

• Talk to you about what you can do BEFORE you get pregnant to make sure you have a healthy baby
• Test you for STDs or help you make an appointment for another day
• Do your annual exam (pap) or help you make an appointment for another day

A positive pregnancy test

A positive pregnancy test means that you ARE pregnant. Public Health clinic staff can discuss all of your pregnancy choices with you when they give you the results of your pregnancy test:

If you want to be a parent, the staff can:

• Give you information about healthy pregnancy
• Provide you with the pregnancy documentation you need so you can make your first prenatal care appointment
• Find out if you're eligible for free health insurance for pregnant people and help you enroll
• Help you make a maternity screening appointment

If you don't want to continue your pregnancy, you can choose to have an abortion. If abortion is your choice, clinic staff can:

• Give you the pregnancy documentation you need so you can make an abortion appointment
• Test you for STDs or help you make an appointment for another day
• Help you decide on a birth control method that is right for you
• Refer you to an abortion provider in your area (Public Health does not provide abortion services)
• Find out if you're eligible for free health insurance for pregnant people and help you enroll
• Schedule an appointment for your check-up exam 2 weeks after your abortion

If your pregnancy test is positive and you are considering adoption, the clinic staff can:

• Give you information about healthy pregnancy
• Provide you with the pregnancy documentation you need so you can make your first prenatal care appointment
• Find out if you're eligible for free health insurance for pregnant people and help you enroll
• Help you make a maternity screening appointment
• Provide you with referrals to adoption resources in your community

If your pregnancy test is positive but you're not sure what you want to do, the clinic staff can:

• Give you information about all of your pregnancy choices (abortion, adoption, being a parent)
• Find out if you're eligible for free health insurance for pregnant people and help you enroll