Conception-Pregnancy
Pregnancy Symptoms
There are many signs and symptoms during early pregnancy that may indicate to you that you are pregnant.
Some of these symptoms are obvious, while others may not be noticable until they are pointed out to you.
Some women will experience all of these symptoms ,while others may only experience a few.
The severity and duration of these symptoms will vary from person to person, and so will the remedies for the problems.
Remember, these signs and symptoms are just a guide, and may also be caused by something other than pregnancy
If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms a pregnancy test will be needed to confirm that you are in fact pregnant.
~Delay in menstural period.
~Nausea and/or vomiting.
~Fatigue.
~Dizziness.
~Hot flushes.
~Tender or sensitive breasts.
~Darkening of the areola.
~Increased sensitivity to taste and/or smell.
~Metalic taste in mouth.
~Constipation.
~Frequent urination.
~Increase in vaginal discharge.
~Sinus congestion.
~Headaches.
hCG Levels During Pregnancy
Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin, commonly known as hCG, is a hormone secreted from the placenta during pregnancy.
You can usually detect hCG about 1-2 weeks after conception, or 3-4 weeks after your last period, hCG levels are extremely low in non pregnant women with levels expected to be less than 10 U/L, it is the detection of higher levels of this hormone that confirms if you are pregnant.
During the first weeks of pregnancy hCG levels rise rapidly with a doubling time of about 2 days, and continue to climb untill about 12 weeks gestation, when they will then start to decline.
The table below shows typical hCG levels over the course of a normal singlular pregnancy.
| Conception | LMP | mIU/ml |
| 7 Days | 3 Weeks | 5 - 50 |
| 14 Days | 4 Weeks | 5 - 426 |
| 21 Days | 5 Weeks | 18 - 7,340 |
| 28 Days | 6 Weeks | 1,080 - 56,500 |
| 35-42 Days | 7-8 Weeks | 7, 650 - 229,000 |
| 43-64 Days | 9 - 12 weeks | 25,700 - 288,000 |
| 57-78 Days | 13 - 16 weeks | 13,300 - 254,000 |
| 17 - 24 weeks | 2nd Trimester | 4,060 - 165,400 |
| 25 - 40 weeks | 3rd Trimester | 3,640 - 117,000 |
| Non-pregnant females | ~ | <5.0 |
| Postmenopausal females | ~ | <9.5 |
As you can see An hCG level of less than 5mIU/ml is considered negative for pregnancy, and anything above 25mIU/ml is considered positive for pregnancy.
For majority of pregnancies the hCG will double over 48-72 hours, but this is not always the case, Your levels can temporarily plateau or drop during early pregnancy and still be normal.
They will also take longer to double as you get further along in pregnancy.
Below 1200, they can take 48 to 72 hours to double.
Between 1,200 to 6,000, they can take up to 96 hours to double.
Above 6,000, your levels may take 96 hours or more to double and still be considered normal.
Higher levels of hCG can indicate twins or multiple pregnancies , they can also be an indicator of Downs Syndrome , or may simply mean that you are further along in your pregnancy that suspected.
You may have higher than average hCG levels and still go on to have a normal problem free pregnancy.
Lower levels of hCG can be an indicator of a non-viable pregnancy, but it could also mean you are not as far along as you first thought
If the hCG levels are not doubling as fast as they should be, this could be a sign of Ectopic pregnancy, or a non-viable pregnancy.
Usually Gynaecological help is needed in these cases to determin if An ectopic pregnancy is indeed present as hCG levels alone can not give a diagnosis.
These facts are typical but are not always true, as with anything, everyone is different and every womans body reacts differently with pregnancy.