While pregnancy comes very easily to some people, getting pregnant can take a lot of hard work for others. Fertility issues are not uncommon today and some of them are related to the levels of hCG and progesterone. hCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin hormone and progesterone is also popularly known as the female sex hormone. Here is more information about each and how their levels can affect pregnancy. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
This hormone is also called the announcer of pregnancy hormone or simply the pregnancy hormone because it is the presence of this hormone that confirms pregnancy. In your normal pregnancy tests, the presence of this hormone is checked in urine, which tells you whether you are pregnant or not.
It stimulates the corpus luteum to produce progesterone if you successfully conceive. You will be able to identify the presence of this hormone through pregnancy tests within ten days of conception.
The average levels of this hormone are 25 milli-international units per ml. Since that time, the levels of this hormone will only keep rising alarmingly [doubling every two days]. By the time you miss your first period, you will have more than 100 mIU/ml of hCG in your body.
The highest level of this hormone can be seen eight to ten weeks into pregnancy. At this time the level can be anywhere between 30,000 mIU/ml and 200,000 mIU/ml.
The variation in the levels of hCG during pregnancy matters the most. As aforementioned, the level must double every two days for the first ten weeks of pregnancy. However, if the levels are too high, there may be a problem. Down syndrome, choriocarcinoma of the uterus, ovarian cancer, ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy are all risks that are related to higher levels of hCG. High level of hCG may also indicate twin pregnancy.
The corpus luteum produces this sex hormone. This hormone is responsible for not just building but also ensuring that the uterine lining is healthy. This is very important for the implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterus. Hence, progesterone plays a very important role in pregnancy.
The levels of this hormone are greatest after ovulation, which is why women are most fertile at this point of time. The levels stay high for about five days to nine days and by the twenty-sixth day of the menstrual cycle, the levels come down and gradually decline. You can easily track the levels of this hormone if you track your basal body temperature every day in the morning or use an ovulation kit to find out when you are ovulating. The highest level of progesterone in the body is more than 10 ng/ml.
Progesterone plays a significant role in pregnancy because as aforementioned, it is responsible for the well being of the uterine wall. Only when the uterine wall is healthy will the egg be able to implant properly.
If the levels of progesterone are low, the egg will not be implanted because the uterine lining will be hostile and will not support the fertilized egg. As a result the egg won’t be able to survive in these conditions. Sometimes progesterone is not produced for enough time. This also causes similar effects and this problem is referred to as luteal phase defect or inadequate luteal phase or defective luteal phase.
Comments