Pregnancy can be tested through various different methods such as urine test and serum test. HCG is a hormone, which can be found in women's blood after ten days of pregnancy. To confirm a pregnancy the doctor can conduct a blood test to find out the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin HCG hormone in blood.
There are two types of blood tests in pregnancy - qualitative and quantitative. In the qualitative test, the blood test is done to find out the presence of HCG in blood and in the quantitative test, the blood test finds out the amount of hormone present in the blood of the pregnant women to calculate the development of the fetus.
If the HCG level does not grow in the blood in a pregnant woman, it may indicate some problems and sometimes, exceptionally high levels of hormone indicate ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage.
What is human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone? The hormone is produced by the growing fetus in the uterus and it is signals the ovaries to release estrogen and progesterone, which is needed for the growth of the fetus. The level of HCG hormone increases at a steady rate in the first trimester in women and it can be found that the hormone production doubles in the fourth to sixth week of pregnancy.
Most of the women suspect pregnancy, when they have a missed period, which happens after four to five weeks of the last monthly period. A woman may use any of the kits available at various stores to test pregnancy or she may contact a medical practitioner to find out if she is pregnant or not.
HCG test kits can be used to find out about pregnancy and if a woman detects the HCG amount as per the instructions given on the HCG test kits. She can even find out the days in which she got pregnant. HCG hormone can be detected through blood or urine.
1. There are many different types of tests which can be used such as blood test, urine test and missed pregnancy, but blood test can indicate pregnancy earlier as compared to other test options.
2. Blood test can be used to find out the day on which the women got pregnant after she started ovulating. HCG can get accurate results related to pregnancy and the days of fertilization.
3. Urine test can also show pregnancy but urine tests positive only when the woman has high levels of HCG and if the HCG level in blood is low, the urine test may fail to show positive result.
Blood test is not done for a routine pregnancy test instead it is done in case the woman suspects of ectopic pregnancy or if the results of other tests are showing a negative result.
How the doctor conducts a blood test?
A blood test can be done by taking blood from the vein from the hand by fixing a tape on the hand and searching for a vein and the blood is taken by inserting a needle and collecting blood into the airtight vial.
