Page 1: About pregnancy tests, how they work, buying info Page 2: HPTs instructions & timing Page 3: Pregnancy Tests: Do's & Dont's Page 4: Taking pregnancy test. False positives / negatives Page 5: Types of HPTs; Are they 99% Accurate?

You should use the home pregnancy test before the expiration date. If it's expired, the tests likely will not perform correctly as the active ingredients that detect hCG will be inert. So, if you find an old pregnancy test in the closet that expired 6 months ago, or 3 years ago, toss it and invest in a new one!

The good news is that most tests you buy have a long shelf life (e.g. we checked several drugstores, and expirations were from 1 to 2 years after the current date). Another oddity we occasionally found: the expiration date on the outer box did not always match the expiration date on the pregnancy test's inner wrapping! In all cases, the pregnancy test's expiry date (on the inner wrapping) was either the same as or later than that shown on the box's outside!

Tip: If buying at the store, take a minute and check the expiration date on several of the boxes. Very likely, you'll find that expiration date varies: buy the test having the latest expiration, especially if you are buying multiple tests in the same box. This way if you don't use all the tests now, the other ones in the box will expire as far off as possible.

HPTs are not (repeat, not) re-usable.
A home pregnancy test is not reusable. It's used once, the results are read, and then it's bye-bye. Of course, you might want to get a digital picture of it first, and share it on your fav internet HPT sharing site! If doing so, make sure to take a picture of the results within the valid reading time-frame for the test you are using.

If you're concerned that the cost of HPTs is impacting your baby-to-be's college fund, you might want to consider buying your pregnancy tests online. In bulk, you can often pay a fraction of the cost of brand-name tests.