Pregnancy Hormones After Miscarriage – Everything You Need To Know About
While in the case of a healthy pregnancy hCG levels are known to rise, the traumatic event of a miscarriage sees pregnancy hormone levels plummet abruptly.
If you’ve gone through a miscarriage recently (we’re very sorry to hear that) and are concerned about a drop in your hCG levels, continue reading to learn more about hCG levels after miscarriage, and when you can expect them to normalize.
What Are Pregnancy Hormones?
The Human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG hormone stimulates your corpus luteum to produce substantial amounts of estrogen and progesterone. For early detection of pregnancy, the home-based kit usually detects the presence of the hCG hormone in your urine. It is the first hormone that announces your pregnancy. In a normal pregnancy, your hCG levels approximately double every two days for the first ten weeks. After the tenth week, the hCG maintains the level of estrogen and progesterone, until the placental completely develops to perform its functions (1).
[ Read: Pregnancy Hormones ]
Basic Facts About Pregnancy Hormone Levels:
- The hCG hormone made by your placenta helps in growth of your fetus during pregnancy.
- During a normal pregnancy, the hCG levels double at every 48 to 72 hours, and the levels can be detected by a blood test.
- The average measure of hCG in the blood of a non-pregnant woman is typically less than 5 mIU/mL.
- In pregnancy, your hCG level rises to 25 mIU/mL.
- When you step into to 10 weeks of pregnancy, your hCG levels rise to 100,000 mIU/mL.
- After the 10th week of gestation, your hCG level declines naturally throughout your second trimester.
- During a miscarriage, your hCG level begins to fall abruptly, and the physician can diagnose the hormone level using blood test.
hCG Levels After Miscarriage:
The week of conception during which your miscarriage occurred and the significant level of hCG in your blood determines the exact time that will be required to return to the pre-pregnancy levels. When your pregnancy occurs near 10th week of conception, and you have the highest concentration of hCG, it will take longer to return to the normal state. Additionally, the exact cause of miscarriage, like whether it occurred suddenly or through medical intervention can determine how fast your hCG level normalizes again. In most cases, the hCG level returns to the normal state again by 4 to 6 weeks after the miscarriage (2).
[ Read: Ectopic Pregnancy ]
When Do Your hCG Levels Normalize After Miscarriage?
The return of the hCG levels to the normal pre-pregnancy level entirely depends upon the cause of your miscarriage cause, how long your pregnancy term was and on the concentration of hCG level in the initial condition.
1. hCG Levels During The Time Of Miscarriage:
- The duration of your conception affects the hCG levels in your blood and urine.
- In a miscarriage that occurs within the first two weeks of conception, the hCG levels lie around 1,080 and 56,500 mlU/mL.
2. Time Required To Return Normal:
- When you experience a miscarriage, your doctor removes the placental tissue with surgical intervention or check if has detached on its own.
- Researchers conclude that the hCG drops to a negative level for about four to six weeks after a miscarriage. After the defined time span, your hCG level begins to rise to the normal level again.
Causes Of A Rise In hCG Level After Miscarriage:
Here are some of the common causes to raise your pregnancy hormone levels after miscarriage:
1. Presence Of Placenta Can Raise The hCG Level:
- After a miscarriage, your hCG levels can remain elevated sometimes.
- It happens when you have an ectopic pregnancy ( the fertilized egg implants somewhere outside your uterus), blighted ovum( placenta develops, but no formation of the fetus occurs), or some other pregnancy complexities.
- As long as the placental tissue remains within your uterus, your hCG level cannot return to the normal state.
- Doctor treats such defects by eliminating the placental tissue through surgical procedures like dilation and curettage.
2. Presence Of Tumors Can Raise The hCG Level:
- Your hCG level can also remain high when you get afflicted with the gestational trophoblastic disease.
What was your pregnancy hormone level during a subsequent abortion? How long did it take to normalize? Tell us here!
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