One of the important studies done during pregnancy is hormone levels. One of these laboratory tests is a blood test for hCG.
What it is?
During pregnancy, a lot of new hormones are formed in the female body, with which he was not familiar before this period. One of these biologically active substances is chorionic gonadotropin. Its abbreviated name is hCG. Normally, it is present in a healthy body, but is practically undetectable. The amount of this biologically active substance increases significantly after an abortion, during pregnancy, or with the development of certain malignant neoplasms.
A positive test for hCG in a woman who doubts whether she is pregnant can eliminate her doubts. The increase in the level of this hormone increases gradually. but already in the early stages of fetal development, this indicator becomes increased.
Scientists have found that the hCG hormone can be in different modifications. They are called alpha and beta fractions. The structure of these compounds is different. The beta fraction has a more pronounced hormonal effect. Its values also increase during pregnancy.
HCG in the body of a pregnant woman has quite a few functions. It helps to align the hormonal background and is involved in increasing testosterone levels if there is a boy in the tummy of the expectant mother. Also, this biologically active substance is necessary in preparing the immune system of a pregnant woman for bearing a baby.
An increase in hCG in the blood of the expectant mother leads to the fact that antibodies are not formed in her body, which can lead to rejection of the fetus
As pregnancy progresses HCG also contributes to the proper formation of the placenta. This is a special formation that is present in the female body only during pregnancy. Many blood vessels pass through the placenta, which provide an uninterrupted blood supply to the vital organs of the fetus.
How to get tested correctly?
Proper preparation for conducting such a laboratory study plays a very important role in obtaining a reliable result. All the necessary recommendations on how to qualitatively prepare for this laboratory test, a pregnant woman receives even during a visit to a gynecologist.
It is necessary to take the analysis on an empty stomach. In this case, the values of the hormone in the blood will be more accurate. There is one last time before taking the test in the evening, 8 hours before the test. In this case, it is better to make dinner as light as possible. All fatty and fried foods on the eve of the study should be excluded.
The rules for taking analyzes in each laboratory may be different. However, there are some specific general rules for performing this study. If a woman or girl has doubts that she is pregnant, then she still should not immediately run to the laboratory to donate blood for this hormone.
In the very first days after conception, its blood level is critically low for a possible determination of pregnancy.
Usually doctors recommend coming to the laboratory to determine this hormone 4-6 days after a delay in menstruation. There are some clinical situations when it is still impossible to determine pregnancy at this time. If the delay in menstruation has exceeded a week, then in this case, a control study is required. It can be repeated 7 days after the first day of the expected day of the onset of menstruation.
Used for research deoxygenated blood. If a pregnant woman is taking any medications, then she must definitely warn her gynecologist about this. Some medicines can indirectly affect the blood concentration of this substance. Various hormonal drugs, as well as immunosuppressive drugs, can have an especially adverse effect.
Doctors recommend donating blood for research 14-20 days after ovulation. At this time, hCG indicators during pregnancy are already significantly increasing. You can drink water before conducting this study. If, after the analysis, questionable results were obtained, then the obtained test should be rechecked. It is better in this case to conduct a study in another laboratory in order to get a more reliable result.
It should be noted that it is possible to determine the content of this hormone at home. For this, various test strips are used, which can be bought at any pharmacy or even in a regular supermarket. This analysis is only indicative and does not indicate 100% pregnancy. To establish a diagnosis, a mandatory determination of this hormone in venous blood is also required.
In what cases is it carried out?
The determination of hCG is carried out not only to establish pregnancy in the female body. This study is also very informative for the detection of oligohydramnios, multiple pregnancies and other conditions.
Usually, for screening for various pathologies, an analysis for the determination of this hormone is carried out at 8-12, and then at 16-20 weeks of pregnancy. These studies are assigned individually, taking into account the clinical situation and the state of health of the fetus and pregnant woman.
An increase in hCG in the body of a woman who is not pregnant is always a manifestation of a certain pathology. This pathological condition can manifest itself even in men with testicular cancer. Some oncological diseases of the genital organs also occur with an increase in the level of chorionic gonadotropin in the blood.
To establish the correct diagnosis in this case, it is required mandatory determination of specific tumor markers. Computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging will help establish the primary localization of a growing tumor
After an abortion, a woman also retains a fairly high concentration of this hormone in her blood. It begins to decline only after a few days. In this case, it is required mandatory control over the dynamics of hCG reduction. This should be done within a week after the abortion.
Persistent preservation of a high level of this hormone in the blood may indicate that small remnants of the ovum are still preserved in the uterine cavity. In this case, an emergency gynecological operation is required to remove them.
Taking anabolic drugs also leads to an increase in the concentration of chorionic gonadotropin in both women and men. Scientists have long noted that long-term use of anabolic steroids can lead to the development of chronic diseases of the genital organs, as well as infertility. In this case, an increased level of hCG is observed in the blood for a fairly long period of time.
Dynamics of hormone levels during pregnancy
Usually, in the first weeks and months of bearing a child, the indicators of this hormone in the blood increase slightly, and then gradually decrease. This hormonal balance is very important for the normal course of pregnancy. By childbirth, the level in the blood of this hormone is greatly reduced. In some situations, gynecologists prescribe to monitor and donate blood to determine the level of this hormone to the expectant mother at intervals of 2-3 weeks.
The peak of the increase in the level of this hormone is usually recorded by 9-10 weeks of pregnancy. Its values reach during this period from 20900 to 291000 IU / ml. It should be noted that the values in each laboratory may be different. In this case, the analysis must indicate reference values that delimit the norm from pathology.
The dynamics of changes in the concentration of this hormone in a pregnant woman is usually quite well defined. Its gradual increase in blood occurs until the very onset of childbirth. If for some reason this does not happen, then quite often this indicates the presence of a certain pathology of intrauterine development of the fetus. By childbirth, the values of this hormone in the blood can decrease to 2000-3000 mU / ml.
With multiple pregnancies, the values in the blood of hCG can increase significantly. The more embryos there are in the uterus, the greater the concentration of this hormone in the blood. Also, a significant increase in human chorionic gonadotropin occurs during toxicosis.
If such a situation has been identified, then the gynecologist observing the pregnant woman will offer her to go to the clinic for saving.
Too low levels of this hormone in the blood can also become a rather unfavorable symptom. Usually this situation occurs when there is a risk of miscarriage. The dynamics of the decrease in hCG is especially unfavorable at rather late stages of pregnancy. A low level of this hormone in the first trimester of gestation may indicate a lack of intrauterine development of the fetus.
The interpretation of the results of the obtained analysis is carried out individually. If the study was conducted in a woman who is not pregnant or in a man, then an increase in the blood of this hormone by more than 50% indicates a very likely presence in their body of some kind of neoplasm or even a malignant tumor. In the presence of several signs, such as delayed menstruation and elevated hCG levels, one can already assume pregnancy.
An excess of this indicator in the blood by 20% of the norm is not fundamental for the diagnosis. In this case, it is required mandatory rechecking of the results... At the same time, similar indicators are compared when the study was carried out strictly on an empty stomach.
Nowadays, support procedures are increasingly being carried out to help couples who have problems with conceiving and bearing children to become happy parents. IVF also belongs to such procedures. The analysis for hCG in this case should be performed 12-14 days after the introduction of embryos into the uterine cavity.
In some cases, after the analysis, false negative results can be determined. They usually appear if the embryo has any abnormalities of intrauterine development in the early stages.
In such situations, the expectant mother is necessarily assigned a number of biochemical studies, as well as an ultrasound scan.
