After confirming the pregnancy with the blood test, it is important to make an appointment with an obstetrician to begin prenatal follow-up, taking the necessary tests to ensure a healthy pregnancy without complications such as pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes.
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This includes medicines that don't need a prescription and any illegal drugs you may use. Search Encyclopedia. HCG Urine Does this test have other names?
Human chorionic gonadotropin urine test, urine pregnancy test What is this test? Why do I need this test? What other tests might I have along with this test? Many practitioners use transvaginal ultrasound at pregnancy confirmation visits to actually see visible evidence of the pregnancy the gestational sac instead.
The beta-hCG test is also used when there are concerns about pregnancy complications , including miscarriage. In these situations, repeat tests may be performed every two to three days to evaluate how quickly hCG levels are rising. Early on in pregnancy, the rate of increase is more telling than the actual quantity of the hormone in the blood. Slow-to-rise hCG levels may indicate a high risk for miscarriage.
If you are undergoing fertility treatments , your doctor may order a beta-hCG test just before or when your period is due to see if the efforts were successful. Doctors caring for women taking hCG shots to improve their chances of conception or as part of the intrauterine insemination IUI or in vitro fertilization IVF process need to carefully time a beta-hCG test to ensure that the medication has cleared the body and will not affect test results.
Other uses for the beta-hCG test during pregnancy include:. Unrelated to pregnancy, the beta-hCG test may help diagnose some cancers. The following are the typical ranges of hCG levels during pregnancy. These ranges are just guidelines, as every pregnancy is different. Remember: Whether you have high or low levels of the hormone is not the key indicator of a healthy pregnancy. This is because many factors can influence total hCG levels, including maternal smoking, body mass index BMI , ethnicity, parity the number of times a woman has given birth , and hyperemesis gravidarum severe morning sickness.
Doctors instead look to see if hCG levels double every 48 to 72 hours from whatever level they started at. They look for this in the initial weeks of pregnancy, as it's normal for hCG levels to peak around 8 to 11 weeks' gestation, then decrease, and level off thereafter. If your hCG levels are low, it is likely that another test will be performed in a few days to confirm if levels are increasing or not. If your beta-hCG levels are lower than expected and remain low in repeated testing , this may indicate:.
Usually, but not always, the same test is reported in the same units no matter which lab did the test. Units of measurement that may be used for lab test results include:.
Author: Healthwise Staff. Medical Review: Anne C. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.
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