Beta HCG "the pregnancy hormone" is produced by the cells of the implanting
embryo and can be produced in the absence of an embryo. Beta hCG can be detected in maternal plasma or urine by 8 to 9 days after ovulation. The chart to the right illustrates the normal rise and fall of hCG levels throughout pregnancy. hCG reaches a peak level at about 8 to 10 weeks and then declines for the remainder of the pregnancy [1].
| Throughout Normal Pregnancy  |
The "normal" ranges for the Beta hCG blood pregnancy test are shown in the table below.
| Week from the Last Menstrual Period | Amount of HCG in mIU/ml |
| 3 | 5 -50 |
| 4 | 3 - 426 |
| 5 | 19 - 7,340 |
| 6 | 1,080 - 56,500 |
| 7 - 8 | 7,650 - 229,000 |
| 9 - 12 | 25,700 - 288,000 |
| 13 - 16 | 13,300 - 254,000 |
| 17 - 24 | 4,060 - 165,400 |
| 25 - 40 | 3,640 - 117,000 |
Because of the wide variation in values, the test is not useful in establishing the gestational age of a pregnancy.
Beta hCG levels should double approximately every 2 days for the first four weeks of pregnancy [2].
As pregnancy progresses the doubling time increases. By 6 to 7 weeks gestation beta hCG levels may take as long as 3 1/2 days to double [3,4].
You can use the
Beta hCG Doubling Time Calculator to calculate the doubling time of two beta hCG samples by entering the date of the blood test and the corresponding beta hCG value for that day. If the hCG level is declining the the half life of will be calculated.
Other Pregnancy Term
<--Pregnancy Term Keywords --> Pregnancy Abdomen,The Belly,Abdominal circumference (AC),Abortion,Abruptio placenta (Placental abruption),Acceleration,Acromelia,Active Labor,Acute Cervical Insufficiency,Afterbirth,Agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC),Akinesia,Alloimmunization (Isoimmunization),Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP),Amniocentesis,Amnioinfusion,Amniotic fluid,Amniotic Fluid Index (AFI),Amniotic fluid ‘sludge’,Amniotic sac,Amniotic sheet,Amniotomy (artificial rupture of membranes , AROM),pregnancy terms,elifexpert,Anemia,Anencephaly,Anesthesia,Angle of insonation,Anomaly,Antenatal,Antenatal corticosteroids , ACS,Antepartum,Anterior,Antibody (Immunoglobulin),Anticardiolipin antibodies (ACA, aCL Antibody) *,Anti-c antibody (little c antibody) *,Anti-D antibody (Rh sensitization, Rh disease)*,Anti-Duffy antibody (anti-Fya antibody),Anti-Kell antibody,Anti-Kidd antibody (anti-Jka or anti-Jkb),Anti-Lewis antibody,Anti-S antibody,Apgar Score
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