History of Blighted Ovum; Worried About HCG Levels
QUESTION
Dear Midwife, I need to find out what is going on with me. I have a history of a blighted ovum. I had a D&C on June 19th. I had not had a period since the surgery. I took a pregnancy test (actually 3 of them) and they were all positive. I had an ultrasound done on August 6th. The technician said that she saw a gestational sac and she also saw a yolk sac. She wasn't able to locate fetal pole. My doctor did a trace of my HCG levels after 48 hours. On August 9th I had a level of 18,600, on August 11th the level was 28,900. I got those results yesterday. Can you please tell me if this is normal? My doctor said that she would really like to see the HCG level double, but would feel better after another ultrasound. I am not scheduled for another ultrasound until this coming Friday. I am making myself sick worrying about this. Can you give me any assurance that things are okay? I am feeling out of my mind!ANSWER
Hey, with those levels, I'm ecstatic! True, it would be a slam-dunk if the level had actually doubled, but these are not levels that worry me, and it's definitely in the right direction. I bet that ultrasound will tell that everything is just fine. Congratulations! -- Cynthia, CNM Send Page To a Friend
Printer-friendly versionCynthia Flynn
Cynthia Flynn, CNM. PhD, teaches in the College of Nursing at Seattle University and is President of the American Association of Birth Centers. She also practices midwifery at Valley Medical Center where she cares 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.
Cynthia hosts a monthly "Ask the midwife" chat as well as answers questions via our expert section.
Listen to Cynthia live on Pregnancy.org Live: Before, During and After.
