HCG ‘The Pregnancy Hormone’- Everything You Need to Know About It
HCG is a hormone that is completely produced at the time of pregnancy.
Not only this, but it also plays a vital role in supporting an embryo until and unless the placenta is formed.
Also, known as the “Pregnancy Hormone”, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone that is produced in large during pregnancy.
During the first 8-11 weeks of pregnancy, the levels of HCG can be found peaking in the urine of pregnant women.
HCG helps the pregnancy go smoothly and even has an effect on the development of a baby.
This hormone is produced by pregnant women and also men & women who are suffering from certain cancers or medical conditions.
The Role of HCG in Pregnancy
HCG in its regular form is usually produced by pregnant women by special cells that later become part of the placenta.
This is the reason why we see HCG at high levels in women who are pregnant.
The main role of HCG is to support the production of the progesterone hormone by the ovaries until the placenta is formed appropriately.
It offers support till the time acceptable amounts of progesterone on its own are produced, usually by 10 weeks gestation.
This is necessary because progesterone is really essential to ensure healthy reproduction.
A higher level of HCG than normal can show the presence of twins or triplets.
On the other hand, a lower level than normal indicates an ectopic pregnancy.
Once you conceive, the body starts producing HCG the moment fertilized egg implants into the uterine wall.
It further takes another 8 to 14 days before the HCG levels rise to be detected through an at-home pregnancy test.
Most urine pregnancy tests are going to detect a pregnancy when you miss your first period.
HCG Also Detects Possible Birth Defects
In order to check possible birth defects like Downs Syndrome, the levels of HCG in your blood are tested.
The tests are going to check either three or four different substance levels present in your blood.
In the case of triple tests, a type of estrogen is included called uE3 and a check for the levels of alpha-fetoprotein.
The quadruple test is also going to check the levels of a hormone known as inhibin A.
Other factors are also considered by the doctor like the age of the mother to determine the chances of baby birth defects.
Testing for HCG can be done easily with the help of a blood sample or urine sample.
To determine whether pregnancy exists or not, the testing of HCG is done with the first urine of the day.
This is done because the first urine of the day contains the highest levels of HCG.
After the urination, a test can be done in less than four hours.
The levels of HCG in your blood start increasing during the first 14-16 weeks of pregnancy.
You need to know that the first week of gestation can be somewhere between 5 and 50 IU/L.
While during the four weeks of gestation these levels increase and reach 1,100 and 30,000 IU/L.
By the 12th week of gestation, these figures range between 12,000 to 2,70,000 IU/L.
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Remember in a pregnant woman very high levels of HCG use indicate the presence of multiple pregnancies like twins or triplets.
On the other hand, it can also show the chances of Downs Syndrome or molar pregnancy.
A molar pregnancy is usually a huge amount of abnormal placental cell growth in the uterus that can fill it partially.
In this case, the symptoms of pregnancy include serious morning sickness along with increased blood pressure.
A molar pregnancy is treated by removing all the tissue from the uterus by force through the cervix and the vagina.
Hucog 5000 IU Premix is also contained human chorionic gonadotrophin as an active ingredient. It works in the body as similar to the sex hormone known as (chorionic gonadotropin).
HCG in men and women who are not pregnant or expectant
In non-pregnant women or men, HCG levels are extremely low and do not play a vital role in everyday hormone function.
But there are some conditions that might lead to moderate to high HCG levels in non-pregnant women or man including:
Familial HCG, a very rare genetic condition
A gestational trophoblastic disease that is linked with high levels of HCG
All these conditions need to be discussed with and managed by your doctor.
You must know that certain types of cancers are capable of producing higher than normal levels of HCG in men & women.
Below-stated is some types of cancers that can increase HCG levels:
By measuring HCG levels in the above types of cancers can easily identify the presence of tumors in your body.
Therefore, after reading this article, you must have attained solid knowledge about HCG.
