Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)

is a glycoprotein hormone produced in pregnancy that is made by the developing embryo soon after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta). Its role is to prevent the disintegration of the corpus luteum of the ovary and thereby maintain progesterone production that is critical for a pregnancy in humans. hCG may have additional functions; for instance, it is thought that hCG affects the immune tolerance of the pregnancy. Early pregnancy testing, in general, is based on the detection or measurement of hCG.

This hormone doubles every 24 to 48 hours in a healthy pregnancy. Because we were undergoing fertility treatment when we fell pregnant, we had to go for 3 blood tests spread apart to measure that this was increasing correctly.

So our measurements were:
1st Blood test (15 July) 131.5
2nd Blood test (17 July) 378
3rd Blood test (21 July) 2365

This is all good :D

Below is a chart that one can use to calculate weeks of gestation according to hCG measurements - but as you can see, this varies quite considerably - I reckon that today we are on 4 weeks 6 days.

The following is a list of serum hCG levels. (LMP is the last menstrual period.)

* 3 weeks since LMP: 5 - 50 mIU/ml
* 4 weeks since LMP: 5 - 426 mIU/ml
* 5 weeks since LMP: 18 - 7,340 mIU/ml
* 6 weeks since LMP: 1,080 - 56,500 mIU/ml
* 7 – 8 weeks since LMP: 7, 650 - 229,000 mIU/ml
* 9 – 12 weeks since LMP: 25,700 - 288,000 mIU/ml
* 13 – 16 weeks since LMP: 13,300 - 254,000 mIU/ml
* 17 – 24 weeks since LMP: 4,060 - 165,400 mIU/ml
* 25 – 40 weeks since LMP: 3,640 - 117,000 mIU/ml
* Non-pregnant females: <5.0 mIU/ml
* Postmenopausal females: <9.5 mIU/ml