Ancient Egyptians had a unique way of testing if a woman was pregnant or not. Like modern pregnancy testers, they too used a woman’s urine to check, if she is conceiving or not. The Egyptian physicians would pour the woman’s urine on a mixture of grains, if any one of the grains germinated, the result was positive, and if none of the grains germinated, it was negative. 

This technique was inaccurate and so it did not develop any further. As time went by, scientists came up with many pregnancy determination methods with little success until the late HCG pregnancy strip was invented in 1968 by Margaret Crane.

The First Signs of Pregnancy

Before we share these 16 homemade pregnancy testers, let’s take a look at the first signs of pregnancy. Missed periods, fatigue, vomiting, swollen feet, tender breasts, and food cravings are all the most common symptoms.

Another early sign of pregnancy is experiencing stomach cramps. Some women describe this as intense menstrual cramps, and can even find a slight red stain in their underwear as the fertilized egg settles into your womb. Obviously, your period won’t come, though.
Despite a baby being the size of an apple pip in the early stages, pregnancy can take a huge toll on your physical and emotional wellbeing. As such, you’ll experience severe exhaustion, even when undergoing your normal daily activities.

Another common early sign of pregnancy is a strange metal taste in your mouth and even the sensation of having too much saliva. This unusual taste can make you feel less hungry and even make it difficult to stomach certain foods. On the other hand, some women report unexpected food cravings for dishes they wouldn’t ordinarily choose to eat.

During the initial stages of pregnancy, your hormones are all over the place which can trigger unpleasant mood swings. Although these hormones are important for preparing your body to produce milk for your body, they can make you significantly more emotional than you’d usually be.

You might feel more upset or angry at things that wouldn’t typically bother you, but you can also feel intense bursts of anxiety and unhappiness. These unbalance of hormones can also make you feel nauseous – especially in the mornings.

If you experience any of these common symptoms, we recommend making one of these 16 homemade pregnancy testers before splashing out on a pregnancy kit from a store.

16 Homemade Pregnancy Testers

1. Dandelion Leaves

Dandelion leaves are useful in finding out if you are pregnant or not. Remember to drink plenty of water before the test, so that your bladder is full.

What to do:

• Cut a few dandelion leaves and put them in a container.
• Make sure that after you put the leaves in the plastic container, they do not come in contact with the sunlight.
• Now urinate on the leaves, they should get completely submerged.
• After 10 minutes, check if there are any red bumps on the leaves. If yes, then the result is positive.

2. Pine Sol

This is yet another good solution for replacing a pregnancy test. See below how to use it.

What to do:

• To make pine sol, mix different parts of the pine tree together like cones, twigs, and needles in a hard plastic container.
• Urinate on the mixture and wait for 10 minutes.
• If the color of the pine sol changes then the result is positive.

3. Bleach

Although it may sound weird, bleach can be used as a pregnancy test as well.

What to do:

• Mix bleach and urine in a cup. If the mixture begins to foam you have some good news to share.

Note – If you choose to use this method, remember to do it outdoors as opposed to your bathroom, because the fumes emitted out of bleach can cause a problem in breathing.

4. Toothpaste

This is yet another helpful suggestion for a home pregnancy test if you don’t want to go to the pharmacy or the doctor.

What to do:

• Mix a spoonful of toothpaste (use a milky white paste) and some urine in a plastic container.
• If the paste turns blue and frothy, it is because of the positive result.

Note – The disadvantage of this method is that there are no guidelines on the amount of urine that one has to use for the test. Besides, there is no defined time limit during which the mixture would turn frothy.

5. Vinegar

Vinegar is also helpful for this purpose. Alike toothpaste, there are no specifications about how much urine and how much vinegar is required.

What to do:

• Mix a sample of your urine with vinegar in a plastic cup and mix it.
• While mixing, you may see some bubbles. Do not worry about them; they are not harmful to you.
• If the color of the mixture changes, it means you are expecting.

6. Wheat and Barley (Egyptian Test)

If you want to follow the ancient wisdom, it’s a good idea to try out the wheat and barley test.

What to do:

• Pour some urine on the wheat and barley seeds, and see if they germinate.
• As per the Egyptians, if the wheat grows, you are going to have a baby girl. And if the barley seeds grow, it’s a boy.

7. Sugar

Try this test using your morning urine, as it is more concentrated.

What to do:

• In a bowl, add 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar and urinate on the sugar.
• If the sugar starts dissolving, then the result is negative. However, the formation of clumps indicates a positive result.

8. Mustard Powder

Do this, if you have missed your periods.

What to do:

• Fill a bathtub with hot water and add some fresh mustard powder to it.
• Now soak your body in the water for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Take a shower with plain water and wait till the next day to see if your period starts the following day.
• If it does, then it could be that your period is late due to other reasons.
• However, if there is no sign of a bloody discharge, chances are that you are expecting a child.

9. Soap

You can use any soap for this test.

What to do:

• Simply add urine to a small piece of soap, if froth forms, or if the soap bubbles up, the test is positive.

10. Tuna Juice and Vinegar

Tuna isn’t just a tasty dish, but it’s also helpful to find out if you’re going to have a child or not.

What to do:

• Mix ¼ cup of tuna juice and ¼ cup of vinegar in a plastic cup.
• Now pee in a separate cup and then add your urine to this mixture.
• After a few minutes, if the color changes to green, then you are pregnant.
• If the color changes to yellowish-orange, it indicates a negative result.

11. Urine Collection

This is perhaps the easiest home solution for a pregnancy test.

What to do:

• Collect your urine in a bottle or jar.
• Make sure you rest the bottle on a flat surface and do not touch it.
• After 24 hours, if you see a thin white layer on the top of the urine, it is a sign of positive result, which means you are pregnant. If there are no changes, the result is negative.

12. Peroxide and Tylenol Mix

If you have peroxide and Tylenol lying around the house, you can combine them for this purpose.

What to do:

• Collect your morning urine in a cup and add peroxide and Tylenol in equal portions to it. If the liquid in the glass turns blue, you are pregnant.

13. Wine Test (Medieval Test)

Wine isn’t just good for consumption, it’s also useful for finding out if you’re pregnant or not.

What to do:

• During the medieval times, woman would mix their urine with wine to confirm if they were pregnant. If the urine remained clear, the result was negative.

14. Onion Insertion (Greek Test)

This may sound crazy to a modern woman of the 21st century, but this is a method that was used by the ancient Greeks. In those days, the doctor would insert an onion in the woman’s vagina and let it stay there for a night. The next day, if the woman’s breathe smelt of onion, it meant that she was pregnant. The Greeks believed that during pregnancy, a woman’s vagina is more absorbent and so it would suck all the juices of the onion into the bloodstream and that is why, the woman had a foul smell coming from her mouth the following morning.

What to do:

• Insert an onion in your vagina and check your breath the next day.

15. Latch Test

This test goes back to the 1400’s. In those days, a woman would place a latch in a bowl and pee on it until it was completely soaked in urine. She would then have the difficult task of waiting for 3 hours to confirm whether she was pregnant or not. After three hours, on removing the latch from the container, if a print appeared at the bottom of the container, the result was positive.

What to do:

• Take a latch and place it in a bowl, then pee on it.

16. Red Cabbage Test

This is more of a gender determination test, rather than a pregnancy test, but you can use it like that as well.

What to do:

• Chop half a red cabbage and put it in a pan of hot water.
• Put it on the stove and let it boil for 10 minutes and then let it cool down.
• Strain the water in a jar or cup. In another jar or cup, collect a urine sample.
• Make sure you have equal portions of both.
• Pour the cabbage water into the jar with the urine sample.
• If the color remains same, i.e. purple, chances of having a girl are higher, and if it changes to a pink-red color, you are going to have a boy.

Final Points to Remember

Finally, remember to always use your morning urine as a sample because it is less diluted. Be very careful while using products like bleach as the smell is horrific and it could get into your lungs. Don’t depend on the results of the above tests alone. Visit a gynecologist just to make sure. Whichever method you wish to use, always ensure your sample and tester are on a flat surface. Lastly, dispose of any plastic container, spoon or anything that you may have used while doing the test.