The makers of the original home pregnancy test is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary and has released a new survey on the emotional side of home pregnancy testing.
In its survey wherein 600 women ages 22 to 34 and those in their 60s and above were respondents, EPT sought to determine how women felt when they were first learning about their pregnancy and what it was like to experience pregnncy for the first time.
According toWomen's Health Brand Manager at Prestige Brands Antoniette Vessa, EPT is the brand that invented the at-home pregnancy test, and this had a real impact on how women experience finding out about their pregnancy. Vessa said that feelings and attitudes about home pregnancy testing has changed greatly in the last 40 years, and this is why EPT wants to share insight about the matter. The survey results EPT released was collated from findings of the online research and survey technology provider Toluna which did the survey from April 4 to April 12, 2016.
Depending on their ages, the women expressed varying emotions and shared different experiences connected to their discovery of their pregnancy. The most significant among the results is that that 75 percent of the women agreed that home pregnancy tests significantly improved the process of finding out.
In the meantime, 45 percent of the women said that their pregnancies were unplanned, so it was a good surprise when they found out that they had conceived. As for those who sought to confirm whether or not they were pregnant, the home test helped 55 percent of the women to find out that they were not. The test was a quick and effective way to ease their worries and they wre relieved to find out they were not pregnant.
Some 37 percent or almost four out of 10 women who took a home pregnancy test admitted that they were more scared than excited; while 28 percent said they were excited about knowing they were pregnant.
Prior to the invention and popularization of the home pregnancy test, most women or 82 percent had to make appointments with doctors to confirm their pregnancy. Of this percentage, almost two-thirds had to wait up to eight weeks to confirm their suspicions. Now, because of the popularity and efficiency of home pregnancy tests, nearly half of women (47 percent) were able to find out about or confirm their pregnancy within only four weeks of their pregnancy.
Among the older respondents aged 60 and older, 38 percent were not convinced regarding the efficacy of at-home pregnancy tests when they first cam out 40 years now. Now, majority of women (81 percent) consider these home tests the first step towards confirming their pregnancy.
The survey results also revealed that approximately eight out of 10 women first learned they were pregnant from an at-home pregnancy test, and nearly half said they took the test immediately after buying it. Finally, while many women consider home pregnancy testing to be an ordinary step, only 16 percents of respondents aged 60 or older have ever taken one.
