Warnings:
Extended Information:
What is hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin)?
hCG is a glycoprotein hormone secreted by the placenta shortly after fertilization; it acts to support progesterone, a hormone necessary to maintain pregnancy. Healthy men and healthy women do not have detectable levels of hCG by a urine pregnancy test. Healthy pregnant women have hCG in their urine and serum specimens. The amount of hCG present in the human body varies greatly with gestational age and between individuals. At what level is hCG detectable by Pregnancy Tests? In normal pregnancy when a healthy female falls pregnant, the pregnancy hormone can be detected in the urine from about 13 to 16 days after fertilisation. The hCG level increases rapidly, doubling every 1-2 days and peaking at approximately 10-12 weeks. By the date of the average missed period, levels of hCG will frequently be above 100mIU/mL and should show a positive result on a home test or a doctor’s test; at 10-12 weeks into pregnancy levels peak in the 100,000-200,000 mIU/mL range. How early can you test? There are a couple factors to consider when deciding when you can start testing to get an accurate result from pregnancy test kits, please refer to our infographic for some of these. It is important to note that all manufacturers and suppliers will recommend testing on the day after a missed period for an over 99% accurate result |