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Clarifications
Hello, I am 8 and a half week pregnant, saw my baby and heartbeat in the u/s last friday. So happy! Now I would like to know when are the hormones not going to climb up, or when does it start to slow down in the numbers? Just to get an idea... thanks!
In most normal pregnancies at hCG levels below 1,200 mIU/ml the hCG usually doubles every 48-72 hours and it normally increases by at least 60% every two days.
As your pregnancy develops, the increase slows down significantly. Between 1,200 and 6,000 mIU/ml serum, the hCG usually takes about 72-96 hours to double, and above 6,000 mIU/ml, the hCG often takes over four or more days to double. It makes little sense to follow the hCG values above 6,000 mIU/ml as at this point the increase is normally slower and not related to how well the pregnancy is doing.
After two to three months the increase will slow even further and eventually hCG levels even decline before reaching a plateau for the duration of the pregnancy. Doctors will often use the quantitative blood test if they are closely monitoring the development of a pregnancy but above a level of about 6,000 mIU/ml that makes no sense because at this point a sonogram provides better information about the pregnancy.
One single hCG value does not tell you much about the viability of the pregnancy and there is a wide range of normal hCG levels in pregnancy. A normal hCG rise over several days prior to 6 weeks of the pregnancy usually indicates a viable pregnancy. In general, the best indication of a healthy pregnancy other than a normal rise of hCG is a good fetal heartbeat after 6-7 weeks.
As your pregnancy develops, the increase slows down significantly. Between 1,200 and 6,000 mIU/ml serum, the hCG usually takes about 72-96 hours to double, and above 6,000 mIU/ml, the hCG often takes over four or more days to double. It makes little sense to follow the hCG values above 6,000 mIU/ml as at this point the increase is normally slower and not related to how well the pregnancy is doing.
After two to three months the increase will slow even further and eventually hCG levels even decline before reaching a plateau for the duration of the pregnancy. Doctors will often use the quantitative blood test if they are closely monitoring the development of a pregnancy but above a level of about 6,000 mIU/ml that makes no sense because at this point a sonogram provides better information about the pregnancy.
One single hCG value does not tell you much about the viability of the pregnancy and there is a wide range of normal hCG levels in pregnancy. A normal hCG rise over several days prior to 6 weeks of the pregnancy usually indicates a viable pregnancy. In general, the best indication of a healthy pregnancy other than a normal rise of hCG is a good fetal heartbeat after 6-7 weeks.
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