How Reliable Is The Salt Pregnancy Test?

Funke just couldn’t believe the possibility of pregnancy.

At long last! Could she really be pregnant? Of course, she and Jide had been trying for years; IVF clinics, fertility tests, the whole nine yards.

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This time, she was positive the late menstrual period would translate to a growing baby. She only needed to confirm.

Over the years, women across the world have tried various methods of confirming pregnancy. A common strategy in Nigeria is to check for weight increase, eye color, and of course, an invisible sign on the palm.

In her case, Funke was willing to take the pregnancy salt test.

What Exactly Is The Pregnancy Salt Test?

This is a self-administered pregnancy test that involves two simple ingredients: Salt and Urine.

The salt test method is based on the belief that salt reacts with Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (a hormone present during pregnancy) in urine. Therefore, when salt is added to the urine of a pregnant woman, certain changes are expected to occur.

What Do You Need For A Salt Pregnancy Test?

Here’s the good part:

You don’t need a lot of things to carry out this test. In most cases, all you need is:

1. A clear plastic container (to store your urine)

2. Two teaspoons of salt

3. A clock/stopwatch

How To Conduct The Test

Collect a small amount of urine (preferably early in the day) into a small bowl
Add one or two teaspoons of salt into the bowl containing the urine
Hold on and wait for your ‘results’

How To Read A Salt Pregnancy Test Result

Although there is no standard for measuring results, most people rely on certain observable changes in the mixture.

A Positive Salt Pregnancy Test

If the mixture becomes milky, the test is positive.

A Negative Salt Pregnancy Test

When no change occurs, the test is negative.

How Accurate Is The Result?

Not Accurate.

This strategy of pregnancy determination is not accurate at all (just the way it is with other self-administered methods except the pregnancy test strip).

Although the test is based on hormonal levels during pregnancy, there is no solid evidence that supports this practice. Yes, we know a couple of women may have told you this method worked for them.

It’s simple; they got lucky.

Another reason why this method is unreliable is that there is no standard mode of administration. Some sources would advise waiting for 10 minutes while others recommend an 8-hour wait.

Sometimes, reading the test results can also be really difficult. The results of this test is based solely on ‘visible’ signs. In fact, what you see may be quite different from what your spouse sees after this test.