When a miscarriage is suspected, or is possibly in the process of happening, various tests and treatments may be offered or recommended by your caregiver. Medications that may be prescribed with the aim of preventing repeated miscarriage are covered in
recurrent miscarriage.
The tests and treatments can include:
Blood tests
Ultrasounds
Operations
Induction
Rhesus negative blood group
Blood tests
HCG
Progesterone
HCG.The most common blood test used to detect a pregnancy in the very early weeks, or to determine if a pregnancy is likely to continue or miscarry is a 'quantitative serum human chorionic gonadotrophin' (QHCG). This is also known as a 'beta HCG' (or 'B-HCG'). The earliest time a blood HCG test will detect a pregnancy is about 8 days after conception (or about 1 week before the next period is due). However, this is only possible for about 5% of women. Most women will show a positive blood HCG level by about 11 to 12 days after conception (or a couple of days before the next period would have been due). Women who have HCG injections for fertility treatments can have HCG in their system for 2 to 3 weeks after the injection. This means they may obtain an early 'positive' pregnancy test, yet not be pregnant.
The HCG hormone starts to be released into the woman's blood stream soon after the baby implants into the lining of her uterus (about 8 to 12 days after conception). The HCG blood level will initially start off very low (at least 5 IU/L), but then rapidly increase (doubling every 2 to 3 days), so that within a few days to a week or so, the HCG level becomes high enough to be detected in the woman's urine (at least 50 to 80 IU/L). Once this level is achieved, a urine pregnancy test will show as being 'positive'.
The HCG hormone peaks to its highest levels between 8 and 11 weeks of the pregnancy. Then the level slowly decreases, lowering at 12 weeks and again at about 16 weeks of the pregnancy.