A blood test measures the exact amount of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), in the bloodstream. Another term for this is called pregnancy serum test

Reply

then so, what's Hcg by the way? what's the importance of it?

Reply

hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin this is a hormone that is produced by the placenta. It is detectable in the blood and urine within 10 days of fertilization (1 to 2 days after implantation). It's important aobut conception. To determine if a woman is pregnant or not

Reply

i have heard that there are different pregnancy blood tests to measure hCG, do you know them?

Reply

Human chorionic gonadotropin is a "glycoprotein hormone produced during pregnancy that is made by the developing embryo after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta). But it is not known whether this production is a contributing cause or an effect of tumorigenesis. hCG is also produced in the pituitary gland of males and females of all ages." - Wikipedia

How is hCG important in the test? It is linked to pregnancy and higher levels of the hormone signifies positive. As early as 8 days after conceptino, increase i hCG can be detected in the bloodstream.

Reply

to jen,

one is called a qualitative pregnancy blood test. This only answers a “yes” or a “no” as to whether or not HCG is present. This test gives results similar to what urine based home pregnancy test kits do.

Reply

If there's a qualitative pregnancy blood test there's also quantitative pregnancy blood test. This can measure the exact amount of hCG in the woman’s blood.

Reply

Yeah i knew taht one smiley. in fact that measurement can help give a rough estimate of the age of the fetus.

Reply

Quantitative prenancy blood test can also help determine if the pregnancy is progressing normally.

Reply