Parenting

This Mom Is Seriously Addicted to Taking Pregnancy Tests & She's Not Alone

ParentingPublished May 25, 2018
By Maressa Brown
Corrine HounslowCorrineHounslow/Instagram

Family planning can be an extremely stressful and exciting process. When you're trying to conceive (#TTC!), you want to be absolutely sure that you're expecting -- or not. The best, fastest, and cheapest way to do that? An over-the-counter pregnancy test, of course. But for some women, peeing on a stick can become a bit more expensive, as they find themselves addicted to taking pregnancy tests.

Mom-of-two Corrine Hounslow took her first pregnancy test at 19 and now admits that she's addicted.-placeholder
Mom-of-two Corrine Hounslow took her first pregnancy test at 19 and now admits that she's addicted.
CorrineHounslow/Instagram

Mom-of-two Corrine Hounslow took her first pregnancy test at 19 and now admits that she's addicted.

“The test was positive. I ran to the drugstore and bought more pregnancy tests -- a handful, at least -- and returned to the bathroom to jam them all in a cup of my pee,” she wrote in a piece for Women’s Health. "They were all positive -- I was definitely pregnant. After I told him, Matt didn't say much to me for a solid week."

She quickly realized that she got a rush from taking the pregnancy tests, and when she and her husband were trying for baby #2, her addiction was in full effect.-placeholder
She quickly realized that she got a rush from taking the pregnancy tests, and when she and her husband were trying for baby #2, her addiction was in full effect.
CorrineHouslow/Instagram

She quickly realized that she got a rush from taking the pregnancy tests, and when she and her husband were trying for baby #2, her addiction was in full effect.

"I became obsessed with checking my fertility with ovulation tests and then taking multiple pregnancy tests, hoping to get a positive result," she said. "All day, I'd think about when I could test next, and I'd calculate my cycle over and over again."

She even started a YouTube channel to document her test-taking.

"When it was time to test, I'd jump out of bed and rush to the bathroom," she wrote. "It's hard to describe the excitement I felt from taking a pregnancy test, but it was like Christmas morning for me -- a head-spinning combination of excitement, nerves, adrenaline, and hope."

Sadly, she suffered two pregnancy losses, but kept testing ... Even though the habit had already run her over $500. "Some people may think it’s strange to put something so private out in the public sphere," she noted. "But may viewers have been with me through all the ups and downs of the past few years. They honestly feel like family."

Even after finding out that she was pregnant again, Corrine kept taking pregnant tests twice a day for a week "to check to see if the lines were getting darker."

She explained that she sees the lines getting darker "as an indication that the pregnancy was going well." 

By the time she gave birth to her second child, she says she had taken about 400 tests.

It's been three years since then, and now, the Hounslows are trying for baby number three. And now, Matt seems to understand his wife's addiction. 

“After seeing how trying to conceive affected me emotionally, and the calm that I get from taking the tests, my husband understands,” she said. “He’s even started buying them for me. It sounds silly, but it’s the sweetest gift.”

Though Corrine's pregnancy test addiction is sure to raise eyebrows, she's not alone.-placeholder
Though Corrine's pregnancy test addiction is sure to raise eyebrows, she's not alone.
CorrineHounslow/Instagram

Though Corrine's pregnancy test addiction is sure to raise eyebrows, she's not alone.

In January, a survey from UK parenting site ChannelMum.com noted that thousands -- yes, thousands -- of women are addicted to pregnancy tests. Meanwhile, Vice's Broadly reported that there are women referred to as pee-on-a-stick (or POAS) addicts, who "often spend a fortune on HPTs [home pregnancy tests], routinely taking ten or 20 HPTs over the course of a few days, and share photos of their test sticks on sites like Fertilityfriend.com and Babycenter.com for detailed discussion." The article continues: "Many broadcast their 'live' pregnancy testing on YouTube, and visit testing sites and Facebook groups like Peestickparadise.com and All About Pregnancy Tests, which are hives of activity."

That said, fingers crossed the prevalence of the phenomenon could help Corrine Hounslow, and women like her, find support and care for this addiction.

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