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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December 19th, 2011 at 9:57 am
cazz.. My partner and i had the same thing, hcg levels went up but didnt double, we hoped for the best but unfortunately lost the baby.
November 6th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Hey, its caroline I am 5wekks pregnant and been bleeding a lot over these couple of days I went for a blood test and 2days later went for another they said it went up but did not double.I went back this morning for a internal scan and they said they could see a shac but they told me go bk in 10days as any1 at all been through thiss I am really worried ?! Let me know
November 3rd, 2011 at 4:27 pm
I had a ectopic pregnancy in march . I found out on sept 13 I was pregnant again. My last period was aug 18. I went for blood work and more blood work. The doctor told me the levels where fine. I changed doctors before they did a ultrasound. When I finally had a ultrasound I was 9 weeks. The tech looked and looked, she found a sac no baby. They sent me for more blood work that was on a Friday. I had to go for more blood work that next Monday.. They called and told me my numbers on Friday was up from the last time I had bw done, but dropped on mondays bw. They told me I would miscarry and asked what I wanted to do. Me and my husband wanted to wait to see what happens. I am now 11 weeks pregnant, no signs of miscarriage so far. I have to go back on the 9th to do more blood work. It’s killing me to have to wait. We want our baby to be healthy but no one is really giving us any hope. We are trying to say positive and I have looked all over the Internet for a story like mine, but I’m having no luck. For all the ladies that are looking for a story like theirs I hope this helps, and when we get more info or something changes I will post again.
October 22nd, 2011 at 10:21 am
I almost miscarried 2 days ago and they did the ultrasound@ the hosp, and everything is right where it should be, But they can’t find a heartbeat and it could be because it is too early.and the dr.@the hosp. said I would probally miscarry all of they way within the next few days, but I haven’t and yest. I went to my new dr. she is an actual obygn and she did some testing of her own on me and she is keeping watch on my HCG levels to make sure they are going up like they should while I am pregnant to endicate that the pregnancy will proceed like it is sopposed to without memiscarrying and 2days ago my level was@ 1500 and now it is @ 2800 and I haven’t miscarried and she said that she thinks everything is going to be alright because normally when you miscarry or that you are going to end up fully miscarrying that your number will drop instead of increasing. and now she is going to just keep watching my number each week and see where it goes from there and hooefully it stays increasing. I am only 5 wks. pregnant which means it is very early to be able to tell what might happen for sure. But, she assures me that everything is going to be fine and that the pregnancy is proceeding like it should. I guess I am just worried because they can’t find a heartbeat yet, and she said it usaully doesn’t start untill anywhere rom 4-6 wks. I’m just worried is everything going to be alright? and I hope when I go in a few days and they do another vaginal ultrasound that they can find a heartbeat this time. I am thinking it is because it is just so early and that is what she said and for me not to worry or stess myself about this. But, I am just so worried if the baby is alright or what? I’m kindof a bit confussed about it to be completley honest. Please pray for my pregnancy.
July 27th, 2011 at 4:24 am
Hi I had a blood test 4 weeks ago then come up negative but had another on yetetday that says my hCG is 36736 is this a higher readingthen normal since I can’t be any further than 3-4 weeks.
May 9th, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Quantative hcg levels are drawn to establish how the pregnancy is progressing. Since the levels can vary so much from individual to individual there is no real way to determine who will or will not carry to term. Typically levels are drawn over the course of six days first to get a baseline level with the following two providing assistance with determination of due date and or the presence of multiples. A rise in levels with a decrease may indicate a potential miscarriage but is not difinitive. A rise in levels then a decrease and then another rise may be indicative of multiples with the loss of one. Each pregnant mother has the right to request an ultrasound to determine viablity of pregnancy. It should be kept in mind that if it is early in the pregnancy only a gestational sac may be seen until at least five weeks gestation. Remember your OB works for you so do not be afraid to ask questions.
April 21st, 2011 at 9:44 am
i just found out that im 8 weeks pregnant , my hcg levels were at 10,000 , when I went to the hospital two weeks ago it was only at 22 and the doctor told me that i was on the way to losing the baby? what happend im confused and dont know weather to get exicited or what any one have answers ?
March 8th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
i recently found i am prego.i had a few chemical preg. my IUD fall out in Dec 09 and had several meds to control bleeding on 02\21 hcg at 35 on 02\23 at 81 02\25 at 300 02\28 at 904 my doc told me every thing was looking good. this baby was going to make it on 034 i had a scan and was not able to see anything
had more blood work done dropped to 635. was told i was going to miscarrey. then and another scan on the 037 still nothing and had more blood work done. i got my blood results today and they went up just a little but they went up to 647 very confused can any one tell me what is going on?? the doc only said he does not promise anything but i will miscarrey soon:(
March 8th, 2011 at 7:37 am
i had a m/c nov 2010 , i found out i was pregnant again on 22 feb , i started to bleed n had my blood work done my hcg was 457 i went 2 days later n it had dropped to 351 ive had them repeated again and its 308 , they have told me its a non viable pregnancy which means it will fail , this is twice in 4 months and its heartbreaking , to anyone who’s hcg levels are dropping , this is not a good sign and you should prepare yourself for the worst , i have to go back next monday for more bloods to check that they are droppin properly , and anyones hcg level that is lower than 1200 you wont be able to see anything on an u/s but not to worry as u can still have a healthy pregnancy