FDA approves FIRST RESPONSE Early Result Pregnancy Test

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the FIRST RESPONSE® Early Result Pregnancy Test which can determine pregnancy up to six days before the day of a woman's missed period

FIRST RESPONSE Early Results Pregnancy Test now has patent pending technology that can detect the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), up to six days before the day of a woman's missed period with unsurpassed accuracy -- one day before any other at-home pregnancy test available on the market.

"A pregnancy test with results this early sets the stage for a healthy baby and a healthy mother. This latest advancement means pregnant women can initiate a healthier lifestyle even sooner in the critical first stages of a baby's development," said Mary Jane Minkin*, MD, board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist in private practice in New Haven, Connecticut, and a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine. "Women who want results quickly will undoubtedly have less anxiety when taking this at-home test."

FIRST RESPONSE pregnancy kits work by detecting the presence of the pregnancy hormone (hCG) in a woman's urine. HCG begins to appear in a pregnant woman 8-10 days after fertilization. The amount of hCG doubles every 36-48 hours as the pregnancy progresses. And now with patent pending Polymeric Amplification Technology (PAT) that only FIRST RESPONSE has, FIRST RESPONSE can detect the pregnancy hormone at lower levels than ever before.

"Every woman who's thinking of having a baby should visit her physician before getting pregnant to discuss preconception care," said Janis Biermann, senior vice president, Education and Health Promotion, March of Dimes. "We also recommend that women visit the March of Dimes Web site, www.marchofdimes.com, where you can learn more about how to have a healthy baby. And the sooner a woman knows she is pregnant, the sooner she can initiate early prenatal care to give her baby the healthiest start."