Can You Have A Normal Pregnancy With a Low HCG Level?

Human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced by your placenta once an embryo implants in the uterus. The purpose of the hormone is to tell your body to continue to produce progesterone, which prevents and protects the endometrial uterine lining and your pregnancy. A pregnancy test can detect HCG in your urine if your levels are high enough. This is how the test identifies that you are pregnant. 

What Causes A Low HCG Level?

pregnant woman on orange shirt outside the house

Following conception, HCG can be detected in the blood as early as day 11 using a test known as the quantitative serial beta-HCG assay, It measures the volume of pregnancy hormone in a milliliter of blood. A single test may be used to see if levels are within the normal range expected at that point in pregnancy. 

A low HCG level can mean your pregnancy date was miscalculated and you are not as far along as you had thought. Further testing would be needed to determine the cause. This may also be due to a miscarriage, a blighted ovum, or an ectopic pregnancy. 

Are There Any Benefits of Low HCG Level?

Low HCG level has NO benefits as it is a sign of pregnancy problems such as miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, blighted ovum, and other reproductive health problems. If your hormonal level is low for the gestational age of the pregnancy, your healthcare provider will recommend a follow-up check in two or three days or perform an ultrasound to get a better look at your uterus.

Do Low Levels Necessarily Mean Miscarriage?

A low baseline is not an indicator of any issues in and of itself. The normal ranges for HCG at various points of pregnancy are very wide. What matters is the change over time. Every person has a different starting point and still has lasting pregnancies.

If your levels are dropping, the outlook for your pregnancy is not usually a positive one. It could be the case that a preexisting condition, such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome following fertility treatments, is affecting your hormone levels. However, in general, declining levels of pregnancy hormones after a positive pregnancy result is not a good sign.

Can You Have A Normal Pregnancy With a Low HCG Level?

If your hormone 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 pregnancy hormones. Most women do not ever have cause to find out what their hormone levels are specifically.

How Are Low HCG Levels Treated?

Even though low levels alone are not always concerning, there is nothing that can be done to treat them. If any pregnancy tissue remains inside your womb after a miscarriage, you may need treatment if your low levels are caused by it. If there’s no tissue retained, then you won’t require any treatment at all. There are three treatment options available after a miscarriage:

  • You can take medication to help you to pass the tissue.
  • You can wait for the tissue to pass naturally.
  • You can have it surgically removed.

The treatments for ectopic pregnancy are similar. To prevent the pregnancy from growing further, medications are given. If surgery is required, it’s standard for the doctors to remove the affected fallopian tube as well as the pregnancy.

How to Have an Effective Pregnancy With Low HCG?

Track your HCG levels for the first two to three weeks of pregnancy. With transvaginal ultrasound, fetal development should appear in the uterus when the level reaches 2,000 mIU/mL. 

Every month, the ovaries release a mature egg into the fallopian tubes for the sperm to fertilize it. Fertilization occurs when the sperm cell from the male meets and successfully penetrates the mature egg from the female. It must take place within 12 to 24 hours after ovulation. If the egg is not fertilized within this time, the egg will dry up and be reabsorbed into the body.

Watch for signs of problems if your hormone is not doubling appropriately in early pregnancy. Notify your doctor immediately if you have vaginal bleeding or abdominal pain, lightheadedness or dizziness, or if you pass out.

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