Lab tests
Pregnancy hCG blood test explainer
A quantitative hCG report gives one number, then prints a long table of ranges by week of pregnancy that overlap heavily, which makes the number hard to place. Add your report below to see the result, its units and the table your laboratory printed laid out together.
Explain your pregnancy hCG blood test
- 1. Add itDrop a PDF, take a photo or paste the text.
- 2. Check itPersonal details are removed on your device. You approve what is sent.
- 3. Read itSummary, table of results, terms and questions to ask.
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What you get
- The hCG value with the units your report uses, such as mIU/mL or IU/L.
- Whether the test is quantitative (a number) or qualitative (positive or negative).
- The laboratory's own reference table restated as printed, including how it counts weeks.
- Questions to ask your midwife, doctor or early pregnancy unit.
What an hCG report usually shows
- hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin)A hormone made in pregnancy, and the one pregnancy tests detect
- Beta-hCGThe part of the hormone the blood test measures; reports use hCG and beta-hCG for the same test
- QuantitativeThe test reports an amount as a number
- QualitativeThe test reports only positive or negative
- mIU/mL and IU/LTwo ways of writing the same unit
- Weeks since LMP, or gestational ageHow the reference table counts time, usually from the first day of the last menstrual period
- Serial or repeat hCGThe same test taken again some days later so the two numbers can be compared
What this tool cannot tell you
The ranges printed for each week are wide and overlap, so a single hCG number does not date a pregnancy or show how it is progressing. Clinicians usually look at how the level changes between samples and at ultrasound findings, neither of which is on one report. MedicDecode explains the value, the units and the table. It does not say whether a level fits your dates, whether a pregnancy is continuing, or what a rise or fall means; your midwife or doctor is the person to ask.
Common questions
Can the number tell me how many weeks pregnant I am?
No. The ranges for weeks next to each other overlap widely, and the same number can fall inside several of them. Dating is done by your clinician, usually with an ultrasound scan.
My report says IU/L but a table I found elsewhere uses mIU/mL. Are they different?
They are the same unit written two ways, so the number does not change. What does differ between laboratories is the reference table, so compare your result only with the table printed on your own report.
Why was I asked to come back for a second blood test?
A repeat test gives the clinician two numbers taken a known time apart, which a single result cannot offer. How the change is read depends on your circumstances, so the person who ordered the tests is the one to explain it.
Words you may see on this report
Tap a word for its plain-English meaning, an example line and what it does not mean.
- ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase)
ALT is an enzyme found mainly in the liver; when liver cells are irritated or damaged, more ALT leaks into the blood.
- AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase)
AST is an enzyme found in the liver, muscles, heart and other tissues; raised levels can signal stress or damage in one of these.
- Bilirubin
Bilirubin is a yellow substance made when old red blood cells break down; the liver processes it so it can leave the body.
- Creatinine
Creatinine is a waste product from normal muscle activity that the kidneys filter out, so its blood level helps show how well the kidneys work.
- CRP (C-Reactive Protein)
CRP is a protein made by the liver that rises quickly when there is inflammation or infection in the body.
- Culture and Sensitivity
A culture and sensitivity test grows germs from a sample to identify them, then checks which antibiotics can stop them.
- eGFR (Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate)
eGFR is an estimate of how well your kidneys filter waste from your blood, calculated from a creatinine blood test plus details like age.
- Electrolytes
Electrolytes are minerals in the blood, such as sodium, potassium and chloride, that carry an electric charge and help the body work.
- ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate)
ESR measures how fast red blood cells sink in a tube of blood over an hour; a faster rate can be a general sign of inflammation.
- Fasting Sample
A fasting sample is blood taken after you have had nothing to eat or drink except water for a set number of hours.
- Ferritin
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron; its blood level gives a good idea of how much iron the body has in reserve.
- HbA1c
HbA1c shows your average blood sugar over roughly the past two to three months by measuring how much sugar is attached to red blood cells.
Medicines connected to this test
Their official labels mention this kind of test. Each is explained in plain English.
- Levonorgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol
a combination birth control pill that contains a progestin and an estrogen