An early method for diagnosing pregnancy is a blood test for hCG. It is a pregnancy hormone that indicates the presence of chorionic tissue in a woman's body (that is, tissue of the germlobe). By its value, the gestational age is determined.
A blood test for chorionic gonadotropin shows the presence of a hormone that secretes additional membranes or layers that appear in the uterus after conception. The hormone can be present in the body of a non-pregnant woman (after an abortion, it can be found in the blood for another 5-6 days) or a man (in case of testicular cancer). Women are tested for hCG in several cases: in the absence of menstruation, with the threat of miscarriage or missed pregnancy, for prenatal diagnosis of fetal malformations, etc. Also, an analysis is assigned for the completeness of the assessment of induced abortion. The diagnostic value of the analysis in the early stages of pregnancy is justified - during this period, neither a pregnancy test nor an ultrasound can accurately determine whether ovarian fertilization has occurred. By the level of hCG, one can judge the timing of pregnancy - a standard value is determined for each week. To perform an analysis for human chorionic gonadotropin, it is necessary to take blood from a vein. It is best to do this on an empty stomach, early in the morning. If you have to take the test at a different time of the day, then you should take a break of 6 hours after the last time you had a loose meal. If at this time you are taking any medications, especially hormonal medications, you must inform your doctor about it. Obtaining the results, as a rule, takes two to three days, but you can try to negotiate in the laboratory and pay for urgent diagnostics. A blood test for pregnancy is recommended no earlier than on the third or fifth day of missed periods. You can clarify the result by retesting after two or three days - in the first months of pregnancy, the level of hCG in the blood rises every day and reaches its peak by 11 weeks, so several indicators can reliably confirm the onset of pregnancy. After that, you need to visit a gynecologist, and after a few weeks do the first ultrasound examination. There are home tests to determine pregnancy by the level of hCG in the urine. But the reliability of such tests is much lower, since the necessary concentration of the hormone in the urine accumulates at a later date.
