"Low hCG levels may represent a very early pregnancy or a pregnancy that is ending in miscarriage," says Dr. Lang. Other causes include blighted ovum (the fertilized egg fails to develop properly) and ectopic pregnancy (the embryo implanted somewhere outside of the uterus—usually the fallopian tube).
If your hCG levels fall below the normal range, it's not necessarily a cause for concern. Many women have gone on to have healthy pregnancies and babies with low hCG levels. Most women don't ever have cause to find out what their hCG levels are specifically.
A normal pregnancy may have low hCG levels and result in a perfectly healthy baby. The results from an ultrasound after 5 -6 weeks gestation are much more accurate than using hCG numbers.
Blighted ovum
This is when an egg is fertilized and attaches to the wall of your womb, but does not continue to develop. When the gestational sac develops, hCG hormone can be released, but the level does not rise since the egg doesn't develop. This occurs very early in pregnancy.
It can be tempting to try remedies or foods that purportedly help raise your hCG levels. Unfortunately, there's no way to change your hCG levels or make them go up.
In conclusion, stress-related hormones affect placental HCG secretion in vitro. The involvement of these factors in impairing early pregnancy development is suggested.
The addition of folic acid to the perfusate mitigated the decrease in hCG.
A successful pregnancy is still possible even with low or slow rising hCG levels. This is especially true since levels differ greatly between women and even between pregnancies. If a complication with hCG levels has occurred in the past, there is no indication someone will be unable to get pregnant again.
By the end of the first week following hCG detection, late implanters showed lower mean levels of hCG. Daily hCG trajectories by time elapsed between ovulation and first hCG detection (“time to implantation”) for 142 clinical pregnancies during the first week of detection.
Dropping hCG levels in the first trimester over the course of two to three days is usually the sign of an impending miscarriage. This is especially true for people experiencing symptoms of miscarriage such as heavy vaginal bleeding. Decreasing levels of hCG in the second and third trimester usually aren't a concern.
Your HCG levels start to build up once the fertilized egg implants in your uterus — about six to 10 days after conception. There are two main types of pregnancy tests — urine tests and blood tests.
What Does a Low hCG Level Mean? However, falling hCG levels are not a definitive sign of miscarriage, even with bleeding. Sometimes, hCG levels drop, but then rise again and the pregnancy continues normally. Although this is not common, it can happen.
Absence of an intrauterine gestational sac on abdominal ultrasound in conjunction with a β-hCG level of greater than 6,500 mIU per mL suggests the presence of an ectopic pregnancy.
Can certain foods affect a pregnancy test? No. While there are foods you'll want to eat and avoid once you've confirmed you're pregnant, what you've eaten (or not eaten) before you take a pregnancy test won't impact its ability to detect hCG.
Complications & Side Effects of Dehydration during Pregnancy
Although not common, dehydration can cause spotting in pregnancy. It's believed some women experience spotting when dehydrated, as their hCG levels temporarily stop increasing, or dip. Once re-hydration is reached, hCG levels level out and spotting may stop.
The fertilized egg (called an embryo) implants (attaches) into the wall of your uterus. This triggers the placenta to form. Your placenta begins producing and releasing hCG into your blood and urine. HCG can be found in a person's blood around 11 days after conception.
If your hCG levels aren't exactly doubling but are still increasing, that's a good sign. Because of these natural variations, hCG patterns alone cannot determine whether or not your pregnancy is viable. Hormone testing should always be followed up by an ultrasound before a diagnosis is made.
Pregnancy losses do not always involve bleeding. In fact, a woman may not experience any symptoms and only learn of the loss only when a doctor cannot detect a heartbeat during a routine ultrasound. Bleeding during pregnancy loss occurs when the uterus empties.
The average decline of hCG in women with spontaneous resolution is slower than previously reported. However, the minimal decline in hCG for women with spontaneous resolution of a pregnancy of unknown location ranged from 35% to 50% at 2 days of follow-up and 66% to 87% at 7 days, more rapid than previously reported.
It typically takes from one to nine weeks for hCG levels to return to zero following a miscarriage (or delivery). 1 Once levels zero out, this indicates that the body has readjusted to its pre-pregnancy state—and is likely primed for conception to occur again.
A borderline result is generated by some assays when the hCG level is between 5 and 25 mIU/mL. Samples reported as borderline are considered indeterminate, and clinicians should request a repeat test within 48 to 72 hours or obtain a quantitative serum hCG.
A slow rate of rise or a drop in HCG levels during the first 8 to 10 weeks of pregnancy represents death of trophoblastic tissue and can indicate ectopic or nonviable intrauterine pregnancy. Serial quantitative HCG values are, therefore, helpful in management of threatened early pregnancies.
That said, hCG levels vary from person to person and pregnancy to pregnancy, so hCG levels are not definitive to determine a twin pregnancy. Some people have high hCG levels and only give birth to one baby; others have exceptionally low hCG levels and give birth to multiples.