- What is HCG
- Know if you are pregnant
- Beta Quantitative HCG Table
- Difference between quantitative and qualitative beta HCG
- How to tell if you are pregnant with twins
- Other exam results
- What to do after confirming pregnancy
The best test for confirming pregnancy is a blood test, as it is possible to detect small amounts of the hormone HCG, which is produced during pregnancy. The blood test result indicates that the woman is pregnant when the beta-HCG hormone levels are greater than 5.0 mlU / ml.
It is recommended that the blood test to detect pregnancy only be done after 10 days of fertilization, or on the first day after menstrual delay. The beta-HCG test can also be performed before the delay, but in this case, it is more likely to be a false-negative result.
In order to perform the exam, a medical prescription or fasting is not necessary and the result can be reported in a few hours after the blood is collected and sent to the laboratory.
What is HCG
HCG is the acronym that represents the hormone chorionic gonadotropin, which is only produced when the woman is pregnant or has some serious hormonal change, which is being caused by some disease. Normally, the HCG beta blood test is only performed when pregnancy is suspected, since the presence of this hormone in the blood is more indicative of pregnancy than the presence of this hormone in the urine, which is detected through the pharmacy pregnancy test.
However, when the Beta HCG test result is undetectable or inconclusive and the woman has symptoms of pregnancy, the test should be repeated 3 days later. See what are the first 10 symptoms of pregnancy.
If you think you are pregnant, but have not yet taken the HCG beta test, you can still take our online test to find out what the chances of actually being pregnant:
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Beta Quantitative HCG Table
The following table shows the amount of Beta HCG hormones present in each week of pregnancy:
| Gestational Age | Amount of Beta HCG in the blood test |
| Not pregnant - Negative | Less than 5 mlU / ml |
| 3 weeks of gestation | 5 to 50 mlU / ml |
| 4 weeks of gestation | 5 to 426 mlU / ml |
| 5 weeks of gestation | 18 to 7, 340 mlU / ml |
| 6 weeks of gestation | 1, 080 to 56, 500 mlU / ml |
| 7 to 8 weeks of gestation |
7, 650 to 229, 000 mlU / ml |
| 9 to 12 weeks of gestation | 25, 700 to 288, 000 mlU / ml |
| 13 to 16 weeks of gestation | 13, 300 to 254, 000 mlU / ml |
| 17 to 24 weeks of gestation | 4, 060 to 165, 500 mlU / ml |
| 25 to 40 weeks of gestation | 3, 640 to 117, 000 mlU / ml |
It is recommended that the blood test be performed at least 10 days after menstruation is delayed, as it may mean that the egg has been fertilized and implanted in the uterus. This is because after fertilization of the egg by the sperm, which occurs in the tubes, the detachment of the fertilized egg to the uterus takes about 4 days and until implantation in the uterus occurs, which can be characterized by the production of sufficient amounts of hormone capable of detected, there are 6 more days.
Thus, the recommendation is to wait 10 days until the test is performed, ensuring the detection of the hormone if there is pregnancy. If the test is performed before, it is possible that a false-negative result is reported, that is, the woman may be pregnant but this is not reported in the test, as it is likely that the body was unable to produce the hCG hormone in sufficient concentrations to be detectable and indicative of pregnancy.
Difference between quantitative and qualitative beta HCG
As the name implies, the quantitative beta-HCG test indicates the amount of hormone present in the blood. This test is done by collecting a blood sample that is sent to the laboratory for analysis. Based on the test results, it is possible to identify the concentration of the hCG hormone in the blood and, depending on the concentration, indicate the week of pregnancy.
The qualitative HCG beta test is the pharmacy pregnancy test that only indicates whether the woman is pregnant or not, the hormone concentration in the blood is not informed and the gynecologist recommends a blood test to confirm the pregnancy. Understand when the pregnancy test can give false positive results.
How to tell if you are pregnant with twins
In cases of twin pregnancies, the values of the hormone are higher than those indicated for each week, but to confirm and know the number of twins, an ultrasound scan should be performed from the 6th week of gestation.
The woman may suspect that she is pregnant with twins when she gets to know approximately what week she became pregnant, and compare with the table above to check the corresponding amount of beta HCG. If the numbers don't add up, she may be pregnant with more than 1 baby, but this can only be confirmed by ultrasound.
See what blood test to do to find out the sex of the baby before the ultrasound.
Other exam results
The results of beta HCG can also indicate problems such as ectopic pregnancy, abortion or anembryonic pregnancy, which is when the embryo does not develop.
These problems can usually be identified when the values of the hormone are lower than expected for the gestational age of the pregnancy, being necessary to look for the obstetrician to evaluate the cause of the hormonal alteration.
What to do after confirming pregnancy
After confirming the pregnancy with the blood test, it is important to make an appointment with the obstetrician to start prenatal care, taking the necessary tests to ensure a healthy pregnancy, without complications such as pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes.
Find out which tests are most important to do during the first trimester of pregnancy.
