How important is HCG? PLEASE HELP

Hello All,

I was wondering if it is important for doctors to measure HCG in early pregnancy.

       I had my first prenatal appointment on Tuesday.  I am 7 weeks. We went thru lots of questions and they took some blood to check for a number of things. When I asked if they would do a blood test to confirm my pregnancy, my new doctor told me they wouldnt. And I also asked her If they would check HCG levels to measure my growth and she also stated that they didnt do that there. I took 5 pregnancy tests before and they all came back positive but I left feeling unsure if everything was okay. My next appointment is in 5 weeks for my first ultrasound. The hospital I am in is a great hospital and delivers many babies but Im still unsure if I should find another hospital. Do you think this is a good way to start a pregnancy? Thanks for all the help in advanced :-)

[Quinns momma]

My doctors office is the same way. They do blood to check progesterone levels but will not do a beta unless there is a history of previous loss. It is quite common for a doctors office to have you do a urine preg test and no blood preg. My office does however perform an u/s at the first visit if you are btwn 7 and 8 weeks to see of there is a HB.

[40smama]

Did they do a transvaginal ultrasound?  That trumps hcg levels - by 7 weeks, you should be able to measure the fetal pole and see a heartbeat.  Oh - I see you're getting your first u/s in five weeks - can you ask for a u/s now?

Like Quinns momma said, most offices do u/s's at the first appt to date the pregnancy and check out the status of the pregnancy to see if it's progressing normally.

[angelbabies]

hcg is important because the number are ment to 2x every day in a healthy pregnancy this can help you know if the pregnacy is normal and helthy but if your having a scan soon u neednt worry. but i had an early scan and they couldnt see a hb but went back 2 weeks later and there was a tiny hb so dont worry if they cant see your very early x