Normal hCG Levels in Pregnancy

HCG is the abbreviation for "Human Chorionic Gonadotropin".  HCG is 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.

• In most normal pregnancies at hCG levels below 1,200 mIU/ml the hCG level usually doubles every 48-72 hours and it normally increaseses by at least 60% every two days.  As your pregnancy develops the HCG level increase slows down significantly.
• Between 1,200 and 6,000 mIU/ml serum, the hCG level usually takes 72-96 hours to double, and
• Above 6,000 mIU/ml, the human chorionic gonadotropin hCG levels often takes over four or more days to double. 

It makes little sense to follow the hCG values 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 level increase will slow even further and eventually hCG levels even decline before reaching a plateau for the duration of the pregnancy. 

In general, after 6-7 weeks the best indication of a healthy pregnancy is a good fetal heartbeat.  

Pregnancy blood hCG levels are not recommended for testing the viability of the pregnancy when the hCG level is well over 6,000 and/or after 6-7 weeks days of the pregnancy. Instead, to test the health of the pregnancy bette at that timer, a sonogram should be done to confirm the presence of a fetal heart beat. Once a fetal heart beat is seen, it is not recommended to check the pregnancy viability with hCG levels. 

There is really no single normal human chorionic gonadotropin hCG level that always indicates a healthy pregnancy and there is a very wide range of human chorionic gonadotropin hCG levels values as pregnancy progresses.

If you are interested to find out if your 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.