Women are using toothpaste as a pregnancy test

Taking a pregnancy test is the typical way a woman might find out if she’s pregnant, but some women are using another method to check for pregnancy – toothpaste.

The ‘toothpaste pregnancy test’ is the no frills, DIY method that’s fast gaining popularity online and it is every bit as bonkers as it sounds.

Google Trends has revealed that searches for the term ‘toothpaste pregnancy test’ have been steadily growing for a number of years and a number of YouTube tutorials have sprung up demonstrating how to do the DIY test and what a positive test should look like.

According to website negativepregnancytest.com, women on a budget are turning to the at-home test to save money.

To conduct the test women need to place a moderate amount of toothpaste on a plate, or in a cup and add a few drops of their urine to it. If the woman is pregnant the toothpaste should change colour or begin to froth. And if the woman is not pregnant the toothpaste will apparently stay the same.

But a discussion into use of toothpaste pregnancy tests on Quora, reveals little faith in the idea and a healthy dollop of scepticism.

“No matter how many substandard sites tell you that toothpaste and urine can announce a pregnancy, you must keep in mind the old adage that just because you read it on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true,” one woman wrote.

“Spend the money on a real pregnancy test and brush your teeth with the toothpaste,” added another user.

LloydsPharmacy Pharmacist Anshu Bhimbat also believes the test shouldn’t be taken too seriously as there is no scientific evidence behind it as a method for predicting pregnancy.

“The toothpaste pregnancy test is based on a chemical reaction between the urine’s acidity and the calcium carbonate in toothpaste,” he explains “However, this is not an accurate or scientifically proven way to tell whether someone is pregnant.”

“Determining whether someone is pregnant is based on hormonal changes, as the test relays on the presence of a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG),” Bhimbat continues.

“This is released after fertilisation of the egg and sperm. Fertilisation does not always occur on the same day as intercourse. Taking an pregnancy test or visiting your GP is a much more accurate way to assess whether you are pregnant. LloydsPharmacy Pregnancy Test is inexpensive and over 99% accurate when used from the day your period is due (£6.19, pack of two, LloydsPharmacy).”

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