HCG Levels in Pregnancy


In This Article:
HCG Levels in Pregnancy
HCG Level Ranges / Numbers
Abnormal HCG Levels


Pregnancy tests generally check a mother’s blood or urine for HCG, Human chorionic gonadotropin. This hormone is secreted by the trophoblast following ovum fertilization and can be detectable as soon as ten days following conception.


HCG - What is it

Human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone created during the early part of pregnancy. It has a few roles:

• to maintain progesterone production by the corpus luteum;
• to maintain the endometrium for the first trimester;
• to stimulate fetal gonad development and androgen synthesis by the fetal testes;
• to stimulate the secretion of estrogen and development of the placenta.


HCG Injections and Testing

Infertility treatments to trigger ovulation or to lengthen the luteal phase of your cycle that feature HCG injections such as Profasi or Pregnyl can create some problems. A woman will need to wait as many as fourteen days for the hormone to leave her body (although this is dose-dependent and can also differ from one woman to the next), otherwise she runs the risk of getting a false positive on a pregnancy test.

False positives can be avoided by taking two consecutive quantitative HCG beta blood tests. If the second test shows a level increase, the chances are good you’re pregnant.


How Do I know if I Need a HCG Test?

You shouldn’t have to ask; typically your doctor will run routine HCG tests in order to make sure the fetus is still viable, especially following infertility treatments such as AI or IVF. He may also want to run the tests to rule out an ectopic pregnancy, especially if a woman has had one before, or she is presenting the appropriate symptoms (pain, bleeding, cramps). Additionally, the doctor may decide to run a series of HCG tests if he or she can’t find the fetus on an ultrasound, or if the woman is suffering from vaginal pain or bleeding.

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HCG Resources

Useful Resources

• HCG on Wikipedia