HCG Levels in Pregnancy
Whether it is their first pregnancy, or they have been pregnant before, many women have heard the term “hCG” while they are either trying to conceive, or shortly after they conceive, but they don’t necessarily know what it means.
In the medical world, hCG is short for Human chorionic gonadotropin which is a hormone that a woman makes when she is pregnant. It can be detected in a urine sample or a blood sample as early as 10 days before your period should start. However, it can take until several days after you miss your period for these levels to be high enough that they can be detected.
The hCG hormone helps sustain a woman’s pregnancy until the second trimester when the placenta starts functioning fully and takes over. It also helps create the testes, secretes estrogen, and helps develop the placenta.
For women who have faced infertility issues, or who have had problems with miscarriages, doctors will routinely draw blood to check the hCG levels 2-3 times a week in early pregnancy. This is because hCG is supposed to at least double in a 48 hour period until it reaches a certain level, when it starts to decline. If the levels are doubling, it is often a sign that the pregnancy is viable and progressing as normal. If there is only a small rise in the number, no rise in the number, or a drop, it can be the first sign to a doctor or midwife that this pregnancy may not last through the first trimester.
There is no “norm” in the range for hCG levels in a pregnancy. They generally fall into this range.
| Week since last menstrual period began | Amount of hCG in mIU/ml |
|---|---|
| 3 | 5 – 50 (less than 5 means you are not pregnant) |
| 5 | 19 – 7,340 |
| 7-8 | 7,650 – 229,000 |
If hCG levels are taken and they not only double, but triple, quadruple or more, this is often a sign that there is more than one baby in the uterus. When a woman is pregnant with multiples, her hormones will rise much faster than they do when it is just a single pregnancy.
If you have questions about your hCG levels, be sure to ask your doctor or midwife. They are the only ones who can correctly test, judge, and give you answers regarding the health of your pregnancy.
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16 Responses to “HCG Levels in Pregnancy”
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taffie says...
im 6 weeks today have had bleeding for 7 days no pain my level on 9/5/08 was 1,062and on9/2/08 they were 843 is this normal
kessiah says...
I have been bleeding for two days and on 12-6-08 my level was 220 and today on 12-8-08 my levels where 379 is this normal?
Ashely says...
My period was due on the 15th of december. My husband was home between the dates of November 30th and December 18 I took two tests on the 18th and they both came back positive.. My question is considering we have fateral twins already what are our chances of having multiples again. Becasue according to my conception date I am only two weeks. Last time I took a test this early we where having our twins.
fred says...
what the difference of value of HCG in normalpregnency and ectopic pregnancy.
how we can read it ?
tks
crystal says...
i found out that i am prgnant on 2/17/09 on that day my hcg level was 65, i had it taken again on 2/19 it on that day was 71, than again on 2/21 and on that day it was 92. Does this mean that there is something wrong, or can it still be a normal pregnancy?
Lisa says...
I went to the doctor and they told me my progesterone was ok but that my HCG levels did not go up as much as they would have liked. I went back today and had more blood drawn. I have no history of miscarriage but what are the odds that I have one now?
Stephanie says...
I have been bleeding for over 2 weeks (normal menstral period like), my hcg levels on the 14th were 1568, 20th was 5679, 22nd 7580, I am apprx5-8 weeks along (they keep changing it), the doc doesn’t seem to be concerned much about the bleeding but should i and what does it mean? I have one child, and have had one miscarriage 3 yrs ago.
Raquel says...
I have had 3 miscarriages in 4 years. I just found out a week ago I am pregnant agian. On thursday night around 6pm my levels were 610. On Sunday morning I had my blood drawn and now my levels are 2429. Any ideas whats going on? I thought they are supposed to double.
Allison says...
Raquel,
I’m not a doctor but you seem right on track with the increase just slightly higher than doubling, however, t inceases this high sometimes indicate multiples acording to another site I came across earlier. Sorry I don’t remeber what site. Just look up HCG level increase maybe you will come across it. My levels are not doing as well as well as yours. Congrats.
mel says...
i have recently found out that i am pregnant again. my hcg levels have dropped slightly in 48hours. doc has said its probably a failed pregnancy. this is very dis heartning as i have alredy had 2 ectopics and 2 m/c’s! back to hospital on monday to find out whats happening!! no bleeding or cramps just brown stuff. confused.
Denise says...
I have recently had some same issues. i am only about four weeks pregnant maybe even 3 hard to say right now, i have PCOS and ionly one ovary had a miscarriage and eptopic with twins in january. I got pregnant again and my numbers seemed to be doing fine. Doctor said everything is looking ok than last night (tuesday) i bleed dark blood for only a short few minutes, than it stopped. now i am having discharge and i am so confused. i read that it might be decidual bleeding in early pregnancy, where the uterus is quite attached to the placenta and the uterus sheds a little bit of the uterus lining, which doesnt mean anything bad is goin to happen,. i called my doctor just bout 4 times since yesterday because i am so scared of losing this child, he said dont stress about it, it may OR may not be a miscarriage. So now i have to wait till tomorrow and everything will be answerd on my hcg… what a long wait… i will keep you posted… and good luck
mel says...
wll i hope everything is ok for you. ive since bled for 2 days and been told im miscarrying. my hcg levels are slowly dropping awaiting more on monday(now sat) im kind of expecting then to have stopped dropping cos i dont think ive bled enough… bled more with others. im so desperate for another child too. im only 23 but have lost 5 babies. i have one beautifull little girl who is my world. good luck
Sarah says...
I just want to say don’t rely on the hcg numbers too closely. We had an ultrasound last Friday because I had been spotting for a week straight, but no heavy bleeding or cramping. The ultrasound did not show a heartbeat but only measured for about 5 weeks. They did a blood test and I returned after 48 hrs for another. They called yesterday and said the numbers increased, but not enough that they felt were viable pregnancy and we were going to schedule a D&C. Today we went in for another ultrasound to make sure before scheduling the D&C and they saw a heartbeat. I am so thankful we decided to do the ultrasound and not just schedule the D&C. Doctor said for my hcg levels that sometimes that just happens that they don’t follow the ‘normal’ rate.
Ms May says...
i have a question my hcg levels came back <2 to 70 im just wondering if theres a chance i could be pregnant or is it negative..