The placenta produces the pregnancy hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin) to assist the growth of the fetus. During the first few weeks of a healthy pregnancy, it multiplies every 48 to 72 hours and can be determined through urine and blood testing (1). However, during a miscarriage, the hCG levels drop (medically referred to as a non-viable pregnancy) and may soon reach zero HCG level after a miscarriage. Read this post to learn how long hCG levels last after a miscarriage, when they return to pre-pregnancy levels and if you can ovulate with hCG in your system after a miscarriage.
How Long Does It Take For The hCG Levels To Fall To Zero After A Miscarriage?
La Toya Luces-Sampson, MD, FACOG, a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist from Stockton, California, says, “hCG levels usually rapidly decline after a complete miscarriage, passing all of the pregnancy tissue, but can take several days to weeks to reach zero once the levels become very low.” The duration varies from woman to woman. It is likely to depend on how high your hCG levels were during the miscarriage. Usually, test results of fewer than five mIU/mL are considered negative or zero (1). If you had a miscarriage early in your pregnancy, your levels are usually low, and hCG levels return to zero in less time. On the other hand, if the levels are high at the time of the miscarriage or if you had a miscarriage late in your pregnancy, it might take several days or weeks to return to zero (2). According to the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), urine hCG and serum hCG levels may take anywhere between nine and 35 days to disappear from your system (3).
Why Do hCG Levels Keep Increasing After A Miscarriage?
The hCG level can increase after a miscarriage in the case of: Dr. Luces-Sampson adds, “There may be a fetal demise with no passage of tissue, where the hCG levels continue to rise, stay the same, or slightly decrease over time. In this case, the diagnosis is confirmed by ultrasound.”
How Soon Can You Get Pregnant After A Miscarriage?
While some doctors may recommend waiting for three months several experts opine that there is no need to delay pregnancy after an early pregnancy loss (4).
Can You Get A Pregnancy False-Positive Reading After Miscarriage?
Yes, you might get a false-positive test reading after a miscarriage because hCG may still remain in your bloodstream for weeks following a pregnancy loss. Thus, the test readings might show that you are pregnant even when you are not (5).
Can You Ovulate With hCG In Your System After A Miscarriage?
hCG hormone is likely to suppress your normal ovulation process. Your next cycle may start only when the hCG levels drop below 5mIU/mL (6).
