What should hcg levels be

Some antibodies may also interfere with test results. Medications that contain hCG may interfere with hCG levels, as well. These medications are often used infertility treatments, and your health care provider should advise you on how they may affect a test. All other medications such as antibiotics, pain relievers, contraception or other hormone medications should not have any effect on a test that measures hCG. Psychiatry Edgemont. What is HCG? Caution must be used in making too much of hCG numbers.

A normal pregnancy may have low hCG levels and result in a perfectly healthy baby. The results from an ultrasound after 5 -6 weeks gestation are much more accurate than using hCG numbers. A single reading is not enough information for most diagnoses. When there is a question regarding the health of the pregnancy, multiple testings of hCG done a couple of days apart give a more accurate assessment of the situation. The hCG levels should not be used to date a pregnancy since these numbers can vary so widely.

If this is the case, you may experience other signs of miscarriage , such as bleeding and abdominal pain. Blighted ovum. This is when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus but never develops into an embryo, so the hCG levels don't rise. It's a common cause of miscarriage during early pregnancy. Ectopic pregnancy. This is a rare but dangerous condition in which the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus. It's usually accompanied by symptoms such as pelvic pain and vaginal spotting.

HCG chart: hCG levels by week While hCG levels can vary widely from person to person and from pregnancy to pregnancy, they tend to fall within a range. Sources BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. Claudia Boyd-Barrett. Featured video. What is a molar pregnancy?

Pregnant with no pregnancy symptoms. Early pregnancy failure blighted ovum. Pregnancy symptoms: 11 early signs of pregnancy. What is a chemical pregnancy? Brown spotting during pregnancy. When does morning sickness start, peak, and end? Instead, hCG levels usually double in concentration every hours during the first several weeks of pregnancy , says Dr. After about weeks, hCG levels begin to fall, and they eventually stop progressing. It'll then move to four, eight, and 16, and then it really picks up speed, moving into the 25, to 50, range," says Elisa Ross, M.

For the rest of your pregnancy, your hCG level will likely remain at 10, Most experts theorize that the reason for change in hCG levels is that, at a certain point in the pregnancy, the placenta takes over making the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This means hCG is no longer needed to stimulate the ovary to make hormones, says Dr.

Home pregnancy tests measure hCG levels in your urine. Usually, we need at least two measurements at least 48 hours apart or more to begin to understand how a pregnancy is progressing. Because the normal range is so large, it's often hard to tell much about a pregnancy from just one hCG measurement, according to Dr. High or low hCG levels could still indicate a normal pregnancy. Continue Reading Below. More About Pregnancy Hormones. Your Guide to Pregnancy Hormones. View Sources.

Mayo Clinic, Ectopic Pregnancy , December Mayo Clinic, Miscarriage , July Your Health. Pregnancy Groups. First Trimester. Jump to Your Week of Pregnancy. Pregnancy Week. Signs of Labor. Please whitelist our site to get all the best deals and offers from our partners. Sleeping Positions During Pregnancy.