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HcG Tests - What Can They Tell

QUESTION

Dear Midwife,
My family doc ordered a "hcg quantitative" blood test to find out how many weeks along I am.

A friend of mine swears that there is no such test to determine this and thinks that my doc is a quack and I should get another doc. I AM going to a OB as soon as possible, but my family doc wants to follow along.

Is this test for real, and what are the chances that my "hcg qualitative & quantity" tests (done at two separate times) are "false positives"?

My friend doesn't even think I'm pregnant...I am stressing enough without having to deal with this.

ANSWER

The hcg will definitely say whether you are pregnant. If you get two done about 48 hours apart, comparing the results can also indicate if the pregnancy seems to be progressing normally.

But the hcg cannot tell you how far along you are, as womens' values vary tremendously in normal pregnancies.

-- Cynthia, CNM. PhD.

Cynthia Flynn

Cynthia Flynn, CNM. PhD, is the General Director of the Family Health and Birth Center which provides prenatal, birth, postnatal, gynecological and primary health care to underserved women and their families in Washington, D.C. Recently Cynthia served as Associate Professor of Nursing at Seattle University. There she not only taught, but remained in full scope clinical midwifery practice at Valley Medical Center where she cared for pregnant and birthing women, and practices well-woman gynecology, family planning, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Cynthia founded Columbia Women's Clinic and Birth Center, where she took care of pregnant women and infants up to two weeks of age and attended both birth center and hospital births. Before Cynthia earned her CNM, she worked as a registered nurse in labor and delivery and postpartum and is a certified Doula and Doula trainer.