While you probably don’t know much about hCG, once you are pregnant, it will quickly become a commonplace term in your vocabulary. HCG is short for human chorionic gonadotropin, and it is the hormone that is detected in at home “pee on a stick” pregnancy tests. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
HCG is not present in the body unless you are pregnant, so that is the only time it can be detected in the body. HCG levels start off very low during early pregnancy, and continue to increase. When they have increased to the point that they are picked up by an at home pregnancy test, that is when you will get a positive result on the test.
That is why, if you take a home pregnancy test too soon, you will not get a positive result, because there is not enough hCG in your body to be picked up by the test.
Once the embryo implants and the placenta begins to grow, your body will begin to (slowly, at first), churn out hCG. At the beginning of pregnancy, hCG levels will usually double every thirty hours or so. The hCG levels will continue to increase until around week ten or twelve, and then levels will start to slowly decline again. hCG levels increase so fast, it can be hard to keep up with what is considered normal.
For example, during week three of pregnancy, hCG levels are only anywhere from 3-5mIU/ml, but by week five of pregnancy, those levels can be anywhere from 18 to 7,340 mIU/ml. By weeks 9-12, the hCG levels can be anywhere from 25,700 to 288,000 mIU/ml. By weeks nine or ten of pregnancy, hCG levels are usually beginning to decrease.
When it comes to hCG levels in early pregnancy, it is important to remember that there is no “normal” number. The hCG levels can vary so widely between women that it is hard to pinpoint a normal range of numbers. Some things to keep in mind are that an hCG level below 5 mIU/ml is considered “not pregnant,” while an hCG level above 25 mIU/ml is considered “pregnant”.
The actual numbers themselves are not the really important thing to remember during pregnancy, but the fact that the numbers are rising is important. As long as the numbers are continuing to increase at a steady pace, that is a good sign. Some women have hCG levels that just rise slowly, so their numbers may be a little bit off.
As long as you do see your hCG levels progressing in early pregnancy, things should be good with your pregnancy. If you have questions or concerns about your hCG levels, your doctor can help you determine if your numbers are within normal levels.
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