The abbreviation hCG means the name of
human chorionic gonadotropin (this is a hormone that produces the placenta, but also tumors can produce it).
A pregnancy test works on the principle of determining the presence of this hormone in a woman’s urine (but pregnancy can only be confirmed after the first week). HCG helps to form the corpus luteum of the embryo and helps the production of steroid hormones. Before you donate blood to the level of hCG, you must specify the start date of the last menstruation. The analysis diagnoses pregnancy on the first or second day of the delay.
For what purposes and when do they donate blood for hCG?
- To confirm pregnancy.
- If you suspect an ectopic pregnancy.
- If you suspect a threat of miscarriage, a frozen pregnancy.
- To identify tumors (because they can produce a large amount of this hormone).
- To identify the causes of amenorrhea.
- After the treatment of an ectopic pregnancy, to verify its success.
- If trophoblastic diseases are suspected.
- To diagnose the dynamics of fetal development.
In humans, normally the level of this hormone should not be more than 2.5 mU / ml, and in the last weeks of pregnancy it can reach 3000 mU / ml.
When to take hCG?
This analysis is part of the screening tests that women take at 10 and 14 weeks of gestation.
If the results of the analysis showed that your level of chorionic gonadotropin is too low (compared with the gestational age), then there may be several reasons for this:
- the incorrect gestational age is indicated (an error of even 7 days may distort the outcome of the study);
- perhaps there is a frozen pregnancy or an ectopic;
- the threat of abortion;
- the fetus develops with a delay;
- the placenta is not working properly;
- fetal death (if a low level is observed in the 2nd and 3rd semesters of pregnancy).
When do they donate blood for hCG for the first time? As stated above, you need to do this analysis for a period of about 10 weeks. But in any case, analysis alone is not an indicator. Therefore, a woman must additionally undergo an examination with a doctor, an ultrasound procedure and re-pass the procedure for blood donation from a vein.
The level of hCG increases in proportion to the period of development of the fetus. If the pregnancy is multiple, then the rates of indicators also double. It must also be borne in mind that the gestational age may not be indicated correctly. But there are cases when the high content of this hormone should alert. After all, this fact may indicate the presence of diseases in the mother (toxicosis, diabetes), ectopic pregnancy, fetal development pathologies. In a word, a prerequisite when giving blood for hCG is any suspicion about an abnormal pregnancy. This analysis may provide important additional information.
HCG blood test: cost
If a woman is registered with the state women's consultation, the analysis is free. Private clinics have their own prices, but on average they range from 250-450 rubles. For this analysis, blood from a vein is taken for examination . Does it matter when they donate blood for hCG? Yes, always in the morning and on an empty stomach. Pregnancy is indicated by results showing more than 25 mU / ml.