During pregnancy, a number of special examinations and studies are carried out to diagnose possible diseases of the woman and the fetus. One of these studies is the determination of the level of hCG in the blood of a pregnant woman, on the basis of which a conclusion is made about the state of health of the unborn child.
Instructions
Step 1
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a hormone that begins to be produced by the cells of the membrane of the embryo from the moment the fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus. The level of hCG is determined in the blood or urine, with which the hormone is excreted unchanged. The concentration of gonadotropin during pregnancy does not change linearly. In a non-pregnant woman, the gonadotropin content is in the range of 0-25 mIU / ml.
Step 2
In the first 4-6 weeks of gestation, there is a sharp increase in this indicator by half every two days. In the first or second week of pregnancy, the content of the hormone in the blood varies between 25-300 mU / ml. The peak concentration of hCG is observed at 7-11 weeks after conception and is 50,000-200,000 mIU / ml. Further, there is a slight decrease to the level of 20,000 mIU / ml in the second trimester of pregnancy. These indicators remain practically unchanged until the third trimester, in which there is a slight increase in the concentration of chorionic gonadotropin.
Step 3
The quantitative determination of hCG in venous blood is carried out on the 3-5th day of the delay in menstruation to confirm or refute pregnancy and at 14-18 weeks to identify fetal pathology in a pregnant woman. When interpreting the obtained indicators of the hormone in the study of blood, it is necessary to determine the starting point of pregnancy. There are hCG tables that take into account obstetric terms, which are counted from the date of the last menstruation, other tables are based on the dates from the expected conception.
Step 4
To determine the concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin, blood is taken from a vein in the treatment room of a medical institution. The analysis is taken in the morning on an empty stomach after following a diet that excludes fatty and fried foods, alcohol from the diet. You must inform your gynecologist about taking hormonal drugs before the study.
Step 5
An increase in the level of the hormone in the blood can be observed with an incorrect calculation of the gestational age, multiple pregnancy, prolonged pregnancy, early toxicosis, Down's disease in an unborn child, taking hormonal drugs, diabetes mellitus in a woman. A decrease in the concentration of hCG can be caused by incorrect determination of the gestational age, premature examination, the threat of termination of pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy or uterine pregnancy with atypical implantation of the ovum), frozen (non-developing) pregnancy, intrauterine fetal death, prolonged pregnancy, chronic placental insufficiency.
