Pregnancy Test (HCG) - University Urgent Care

What is an HCG Prenancy Test?

WHAT IS AN HCG PREGNANCY TEST?

An HCG pregnancy test is a blood test that measures the level of HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, in your blood. HCG is a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy. This hormone is what helps to maintain the pregnancy and provide nutrients to the developing baby.

The level of HCG in your blood will increase as your pregnancy progresses. This makes HCG an ideal marker for pregnancy tests because it can be detected early on in a pregnancy.

Accuracy of Pregnancy Blood Test

Typically, HCG levels increase steadily during the first trimester, peak, then decline in the second and third trimesters as the pregnancy progresses.

Doctors may order several HCG blood tests over several days to monitor how a person’s HCG levels change. This HCG trend can help doctors determine how a pregnancy is developing.

Key points to know about HCG pregnancy tests include the following:

Home pregnancy tests are about 99% accurate when a person takes them correctly.
For the most accurate results, a person should not take an HCG test until after the first missed period.
A home test cannot detect pregnancy complications.

What to expect

When you go to an urgent care facility for your HCG pregnancy test, you will first be asked to fill out a medical history form. This form will ask questions about your health history and current symptoms.

After you have filled out the medical history form, a nurse or doctor will collect a small sample of blood from your arm. This sample will then be tested on-site using our on-site laboratory.

Once our laboratory has processed your blood sample, you will receive your results within minutes. The results of your HCG pregnancy test will be either positive or negative. A positive result means that you are pregnant and a negative result means that you are not pregnant.

If you have a positive result, the next step is to make an appointment with your doctor. Your doctor will then confirm your pregnancy and provide you with information about your next steps.