Sensitivity is measured in mIU/mL, and the lower the number, the earlier a test can pick up hCG. Most standard supermarket tests sit at 25 mIU/mL, only detecting pregnancy from the day of your missed period. OVUM Early Detection Pregnancy Tests are among the most sensitive on the market at 10 mIU/mL, based on the WHO 4th International Standard, the benchmark used by all leading early-result tests.

People often worry that sustainability comes at a compromise of sustainability, but with OVUM Early Detection Pregnancy tests, you do not need to choose between the two. Our tests are the most sensitive, as well as the first to be fully recyclable in the UK.

You can test up to 5 days before your expected period with OVUM Early Detection tests.

Accuracy builds the closer you get to your expected period: it's 77% accurate at 5 days before, 97% at 4 days before, and over 99% accurate from 3 days before your expected period onwards.If you get a negative result and you tested more than three days before your expected period, you could still be pregnant. Take the test again in a few days as you may simply not be producing enough hCG yet for the test to detect it.

If you test and get a negative, we are here to support you. However you're feeling about it, you don't have to sit with it alone. Every OVUM Early Detection pack includes free access to a guided meditation with fertility mindset coach Alice Rose, there for you whatever the result.

We include a prepaid envelope in each box of tests allowing you to post your used tests, the foil wrappers and desiccants to Enval, our recycling partner, who use a patented microwave-induced pyrolysis process to return the plastic back to its original oil state allowing it to be used for multiple applications once again. We are currently working on our second prototype of pregnancy test which will be entirely plastic-free, so watch this space.

To learn more about recycling OVUM products please visit our blog.

Check your result between 3-5 minutes after taking the test and make sure you read the result within five minutes. After that time, the results may not be accurate so please test again.

• Waiting too long to read your result window. Results read after five minutes are not accurate. 
• If you have recently stopped using hormonal contraception or are using fertility drugs, your periods may be irregular leading you to test too soon.
• A recent miscarriage or pregnancy, including a chemical pregnancy (a pregnancy loss very soon after implantation), may give you a false positive when you’re no longer pregnant. Also, a normal pregnancy cannot be distinguished from an ectopic pregnancy based on hCG levels alone. 
• Fertility drugs containing hCG can lead to misleading results. The hCG in these drugs usually clears your body two weeks post-injection.
• Rare medical conditions that result in the production of hCG unrelated to pregnancy. These include ovarian cysts or tumours, gestational trophoblastic disease and hCG secreted by the pituitary gland during the menopause. If you think any of these might apply to you, please see your GP.

Standard supermarket pregnancy tests typically have a sensitivity of 25 mIU/mL, meaning they only pick up hCG reliably from the day of your missed period. OVUM Early Detection tests are more than twice as sensitive at 10 mIU/mL, based on the WHO 4th International Standard, so they can detect much lower hCG levels much earlier.

That sensitivity difference is what gives OVUM its early testing window. You can test up to 5 days before your expected period, with accuracy building as you get closer: 77% at 5 days before, 97% at 4 days before, and over 99% accurate from 3 days before your period is due. A standard 25 mIU/mL test simply can't offer that window, it needs hCG levels that usually don't build up until your period is already due.

So the short version: OVUM matches the sensitivity of the leading early-result tests on the market, a few other brands sit around the same 10 mIU/mL threshold, however OVUM Early Detection Pregnancy Tests are the only fully recyclable option among them. You're not trading accuracy for sustainability.