You may be too early in your pregnancy for your hCG levels to increase. Your first test result is considered a baseline level. The baseline level is important because of a concept doctors call doubling time. In the first four weeks of a viable pregnancy, hCG levels will typically double about every two to three days.
After six weeks, the levels will double about every 96 hours. In the absence of certain risks, this or one additional level may be enough to determine pregnancy. In many cases, your doctor will then recommend you have an ultrasound sometime between 8 and 12 weeks as part of first trimester pregnancy care. They may even decrease. Therefore, your doctor may ask you to return to their office two to three days after your baseline blood test to see if your level has doubled appropriately.
This could include progesterone blood tests and a transvaginal ultrasound to check your uterus for a gestational sac. Other symptoms, such as bleeding or cramping, will also be taken into account. In the event of a miscarriage, hCG levels typically decrease from previous measurements.
Levels that are slow to rise can also indicate a non-uterine pregnancy, which happens when the fertilized egg implants somewhere outside the uterus usually the fallopian tubes. The normal ranges for hCG at various points of pregnancy are very wide. Each pregnancy is different in this regard. What really matters is the change over time.
Different people will have different baselines and still have lasting pregnancies. Your hCG level should at least double in a healthy pregnancy—a triple hCG could be twins! I called my husband to tell him the abdominal pain was probably just my body preparing for twins! I remain hopeful that it could be vanishing twins—a long shot but still possible! What does that mean?! The very warm, professional nurse in recovery is visibly worried about giving me the methotrexate; she is wearing three pairs of gloves, explaining all the side effects… and I decide to politely refuse the treatment until my ectopic pregnancy is confirmed.
What the on-call OBGYN explained in a way I finally understood was that if I delay treatment for my ectopic pregnancy, the unviable fertilized egg can grow larger in the wrong place, which could cause a life-threatening hemorrhage or cause my fallopian tube to rupture, threatening my chances of children in the future. On Monday I go back to the emergency department in pain and receive the methotrexate, and my ectopic pregnancy is confirmed the next day.
But in one week I was pregnant, I might have miscarried, I thought I was having twins, I accepted that I had a miscarriage, and then I was diagnosed with an unconfirmed but life-threatening complication. After that they decline somewhat, and usually plateau during the second and third trimester. Your hCG levels at any particular point in time during pregnancy don't mean much. Although there are average ranges of hCG levels for different stages of pregnancy, these can vary dramatically from woman to woman, and from pregnancy to pregnancy.
Even if your hCG levels are outside the "normal" range, you can still have a perfectly healthy pregnancy and baby. That said, it is important that your hCG levels increase during early pregnancy. If your hCG levels don't continue to rise rapidly during the first few weeks or if they start to drop, this can signal a problem such as an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage.
Higher-than-typical hCG levels can signal that you're carrying multiples or, in rare cases, have a molar pregnancy. Often, you won't know what your hCG levels are during pregnancy. Home pregnancy tests don't give a specific hCG number. However, you may learn your hCG levels if your provider orders a blood test to confirm your pregnancy or as part of a screening test.
Your provider may also order a series of two or more hCG blood tests if he or she has concerns about how your pregnancy is progressing. These blood tests, taken two to three days apart, can tell your provider whether your hCG levels are trending in the right direction. While hCG levels can vary widely from person to person and from pregnancy to pregnancy, they tend to fall within a range.
Below is the average hCG range during pregnancy, based on the number of weeks since your last menstrual period Note, if your cycle is irregular, these numbers may not apply. All about home pregnancy tests. BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals.
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Treatment and Next Steps. Levels After Miscarriage. Physical Recovery After a Miscarriage. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up.
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