The ancient Egyptians were the first to use urine to determine pregnancy. To this end they moistened the wheat seeds with urine, and the germination was the equivalent of today’s two stripes (or a plus sign). Testing of this theory in 1960s proved that the urine of pregnant women did indeed promote growth most of the times.

In the 1890s the scientists suggested that certain organs of human body secrete fluids that influence the workings of a human. English physiologist Ernest Henry Starling named these fluids "hormones", after the Greek word hormon meaning "that which sets in motion".

However, the hormone that can be found in a pregnant woman's urine and blood and is detected by today’s pregnancy tests was discovered only in the 1920s by German scientists. Selmar Aschheim and Bernhard Zondek introduced testing which identified the presence of hCG in urine in 1928. To test for pregnancy they injected an immature female mouse with woman’s urine. In the case of pregnancy, the mouse’s ovary would show an estrous reaction (be in heat) despite its immaturity.

Such tests, also performed in rabbits, frogs, and rats, not only required sacrifice of animals, but also were expensive and slow (taking days to get results).

By the early 1970s, the pregnancy tests were performed by doctors and technicians. The women had either to bring urine sample to the doctor’s office or send it via mail to a laboratory. These first kits were composed of solutions, test tubes, antiserum, pipettes, etc. The test took about two hours, and was more accurate for positive results than for negative.

Easy pregnancy test hit the American market by the end of 1977. Though compared to today’s types it was not easy at all - a woman was still required to mix her urine with solutions, and the procedure was still rather complex, requiring a few hours for the result to appear.

Further development were made throughout the 1980s and 90s, and in the improved tests the testing reagent was situated within a hand-held applicator. With these new applicators the testing required only about ten minutes. Test sensitivity also increased. Some companies claim that their tests can detect pregnancy even before a missed period (around eight to ten days after a woman ovulates).

The next generation of home pregnancy tests - digital pregnancy test - was introduced in the 2000s. Instead of a line, there is now an indicator that displays either "pregnant" or "not pregnant."