hCG Level in Early Pregnancy

Many women wonder what the hCG level in early pregnancy is.  In most normal pregnancies with hCG levels below 1,200 mIU/ml, the hCG usually doubles every 48-72 hours and increases by at least 60% every two days.  

Among the most important questions asked by women is "How soon can I detect my pregnancy"? Most pregnancy tests and symptoms depend on high enough hCG levels, the higher the levels, the more symptoms. A pregnancy can be detected mainly by a missed period and implantation bleeding as well as through different ways such as  typical pregnancy symptoms, and early positive pregnancy tests. Another way to detect your pregnancy is by doing our "Am I pregnant?" pregnancy quiz test, and the online pregnancy test (OPT).

Calculate your hCG levels with the BabyMed hCG Calculator.

What does it mean if the hCG is "slow rising"?

The HCG pregnancy hormone level has a  wide range of normal levels in early pregnancy. HCG is the abbreviation for "Human Chorionic Gonadotropin",  the "pregnancy hormone" which is being produced by the placenta as soon as implantation happens about one week after fertilization and ovulation. hCG then continues to rise until about 10-12 weeks at which point it will stabilize or drop.
Many women wonder whether they have a normal hCG level or not.

• An hCG level below 5 mIU/ml is considered "not pregnant"
• An hCG level above 25 mIU/ml is considered "pregnant".
• An hCG level between 5-25 mIU/ml requires a follow-up test to confirm what it could be.
• At hCG levels in early pregnancy below 1,200 mIU/ml the hCG usually doubles every 48-72 hours and it should normally increase by at least 60% every two days. 
• Between 1,200 and 6,000 mIU/ml serum hCG levels in early pregnancy, the hCG usually takes 72-96 hours to double
• Above 6,000 mIU/ml, the hCG often takes over four or more days to double.
• After 9-10 weeks of the pregnancy hCG levels normally decrease

It makes little sense to follow the hCG level in early pregnancy above 6,000 mIU/ml as at this point the increase is normally slower and not related to how well the pregnancy is doing. After two to three months the hCG numbers in early pregnancy will slow even further and eventually hCG levels even decline before reaching a plateau for the duration of the pregnancy.

There is really no single "normal" hCG level in early pregnancy and there is a very wide range of hCG values as pregnancy progresses.

If you are interested to find out if your pregnancy hCh number in early pregnancy is progressing normally or not then the most important information is to find out whether your blood hCG level is rising normally or not.

See more about hCG information HERE