What they are: Pregnancy urine stick tests include a stick that is placed into a stream of urine. After a few minutes, the test will display lines, dots, or colors to indicate whether you are pregnant or not pregnant. If the test detects hCG in your urine, it will indicate you are pregnant.

Why to buy: These tests are easy to use and relatively inexpensive. To get the most sensitive test, pick the one that detects the lowest level of hCG in urine.

Things to consider: Some people do not want to “interpret” the test. They may question whether they are seeing the lines, dots, or colors on the stick that indicate pregnancy.

What they are: Ovulation kits include either several strips, which are placed into a container of urine, or several sticks, which are placed into the urine stream. You can read the tests after five minutes. Strips and sticks provide similar accuracy, so use whichever test you prefer.

Why to buy: Ovulation kits can help you increase the chances of becoming pregnant. By letting you know exactly when you are ovulating, the test lets you know your most fertile time in your menstrual cycle; this is the time you are most likely to become pregnant.

Things to consider: Ovulation kits can be pricey, so you may want to try charting your ovulation for a few months using other methods first. Ask your doctor or nurse how to use an ovulation calendar, track your daily temperatures (with a special thermometer), and/or examine your vaginal discharge to approximately track ovulation. Once you do this, you’ll have an idea of how best to use an ovulation kit once you purchase it. Ovulation kits work by detecting luteinizing hormone (LH) in the urine. Urine will be tested for several days around the time a woman believes she is ovulating. Just before ovulation, LH levels surge, so if you detect a higher-than-average level of LH on a particular day, you know that you are about to ovulate. For most women, a positive ovulation test result means she is fertile—more likely to become pregnant—over the next three days. Peak fertility is usually around 36 hours after the LH surge. Most ovulation kits suggest testing urine mid-afternoon. This can improve the odds of detecting the surge in LH which indicates you are about to ovulate. Ovulation kits may not work well if a woman has a health condition that affects levels of reproductive hormones, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome. It may be more difficult to use an ovulation kit to accurately predict ovulation if your periods are very irregular. To understand how to track ovulation, remember that “day 1” of a woman’s cycle is the first day of her period. So if a woman ovulates on “day 14,” this means she is ovulating 14 days after she first starts her period.