A faint second line usually means that you are pregnant. If you take a pregnancy test with a urine pregnancy kit before 10 weeks of pregnancy, it could have a faint second line. A urine pregnancy kit detects human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone in your urine sample. This hormone is found in a woman’s body only when she is pregnant. However, the level of hCG hormone starts growing in the body only after six weeks of conception, and it keeps increasing as the pregnancy progresses. If you test too early, the kit may not be able to detect the hormone and you will see a faint line. Urine pregnancy kits are accurate 99% of the time.
While a faint second line usually indicates positive pregnancy, some other interpretations could be:
- A faint line could mean that you are pregnant but your hCG levels are low.
- You took the test too early in your pregnancy when the hCG levels have not risen.
- You took the test immediately after your first missed period.
- If you wait too long to read the test result, you may see a faint second line. Most test kits recommend reading the result within 2-3 minutes after putting urine in the test well. If you wait too long, you may see another faint line called the evaporation line.
- A faint positive line can also mean an early miscarriage called a chemical pregnancy. In a chemical pregnancy, the miscarriage usually happens within the first weeks of conception.
- A faint pregnancy line can also indicate an ectopic pregnancy. Check with your doctor to see if you have an ectopic pregnancy.
- A second faint line can also appear if you are on some drugs, especially fertility drugs. If you had an injection containing hCG as part of your fertility treatment, the hormone levels would stay high in your body for the next seven days. If you take the test during this period, you may find a faint second line.
If you get a faint second line it is better to take another test after a few days. Alternatively, you can visit your doctor and take a blood pregnancy test to confirm.
