There are many fertility treatments that you can undergo if you have trouble getting pregnant naturally. The most preferred methods are IUI, IVF, and ICSI. But they are done when either you or your partner have infertility issues.
But did you know that there is another method? hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) injection is also one such fertility treatment that can help you get pregnant.
The hCG hormone stimulates the ovaries to produce progesterone, which then stimulates the ovaries to produce mature eggs. You might have trouble ovulating if you have low levels of hCG in your body.
In this article, we’ll discuss all about hCG, what role it plays in pregnancy, and if you should consider taking it to become pregnant.
HCG and Pregnancy
hCG is the hormone that the body releases during pregnancy. When you take a pregnancy test, the kit measures the amount of hCG hormones in your urine to determine the result.
When the embryo implants in the uterus, your body releases high levels of hCG hormones within 2 weeks. These hormones appear in your blood or urine, which can then help you determine pregnancy.
You are considered pregnant if you have more than 25mIU/mL of hCG hormones in your blood or urine. This level increases as you progress in your pregnancy. You will get a negative pregnancy result if you have less than 2 mIU/mL hCG in your body.
HCG Injection for Pregnancy
Sometimes, you might have trouble ovulating and releasing mature eggs. This is mainly because your body doesn’t have enough progesterone hormone to stimulate ovulation.
Administering hCG injections in combination with other fertility drugs like FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) can help stimulate the ovaries to grow and produce mature eggs.
This is called the ovulation stimulation process. It can be done in two cases.
- You have a good ovarian reserve and don’t have any fertility issues. In this case, the hCG injection can be given to stimulate the ovulation process. You can then get pregnant naturally through sexual intercourse.
- You have a low ovarian reserve and need to undergo fertility treatment. Here, hCG is administered along with FSH to stimulate ovaries to produce more mature eggs. You can then undergo IUI or IVF, as the doctor suggests.
HCG Injection During Pregnancy
If you have low hCG hormones, it means you have low progesterone hormones in your body. Progesterone is an important hormone that is essential to sustain pregnancy.
Progesterone also ensures your fetus develops healthily. Below are some cases when you can consider taking a hCG injection.
- If you get pregnant with low hCG levels
- If your hCG levels don’t increase as the pregnancy progresses
Low progesterone levels increase the risks of early miscarriage and other complications. Ensure you test your hCG levels and take an injection before it affects your baby.
When Not to Take hCG?
hCG injection can be helpful for women who have difficulty getting pregnant due to low hCG levels. But this does not mean that it can be helpful for all women.
hCG combined with other drugs can cause an adverse reaction in some women who already have an existing medical condition. It is crucial to discuss with your doctor and understand whether the injection will have any side effects on you.
Some medical conditions that don’t go well with hCG injections are
- Heart and kidney diseases,
- Thyroid issues,
- Tumors,
- Asthma, and
Seizures.
HCG Injection Side Effects
An hCG injection can help women get pregnant by increasing their hCG levels. But it might also have some side effects. Sometimes, the effects can be minor and disappear within a few days, like
- Bloating and
- stomach pain,
- Swelling and rashes,
- Headache,
- Dizziness, etc.
In rare cases, you might experience severe side effects that should be brought to your doctor’s attention. Below are some of them.
- Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). OHSS happens when the ovaries react excessively to the fertility drugs and become swollen and very painful.
- Severe bloating, stomach pain, and pelvic pain.
- Indigestion, voting, and diarrhea
- Shortness of breath
- Swollen hands and legs
Early Signs of Pregnancy After hCG Injection
As discussed earlier, an hCG injection helps women ovulate and produce mature eggs. If you time it right and have sexual intercourse during this period, there are high chances of pregnancy.
After fertilization, it might take around a week till implantation and another one or two weeks before you start experiencing pregnancy symptoms.
You will experience the usual pregnancy symptoms, like
- Missed periods,
- Fatigue and tiredness,
- Nausea and vomiting,
- Frequent urination, etc.
Remember that you might sometimes experience these symptoms due to the hCG hormones in the body and not due to pregnancy. Your urine and blood pregnancy tests will also not show correct results due to the hCG levels in your body. It is best to take an ultrasound scan to confirm pregnancy.
Reasons for Not Becoming Pregnant After hCG Injection
Though hCG injections help most women get pregnant by promoting ovulation, this does not work for all of them. Here are some reasons why hCG injections might not work for you.
1. High levels of androgen (male hormone) in the body
High androgen levels are one of the major causes of anovulatory issues. If you have high androgens, even if hCG helps you ovulate, the egg may not be fertilized and implanted in the uterus successfully.
2. Not administering sufficient hCG hormones
Your body needs around 5,000–10,000 units of hCG to raise progesterone hormones enough for ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. It might not happen if you were administered lesser amounts of hCG.
3. You have other fertility issues
An hCG injection works best for women with good ovarian reserve and no unexplained infertility issues. But, if you have other fertility issues like low ovarian reserve, PCOS, uterine or endometrial issues, or blocked fallopian tubes, hCG injections may not be enough to get pregnant.
You might need to discuss with your doctor and explore other fertility treatment options to get pregnant.
Conclusion
hCG injections are an effective method to induce ovulation and get pregnant. It also helps prevent miscarriages in pregnant women with low hCG levels. Visit your doctor and test your hCG levels if you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant. This can help prevent future complications.
In case hCG injections don’t help you get pregnant, you can always choose to undergo fertility treatments like IUI, IVF, etc. Just know that hCG is not the end of the road, and several options exist to help you become pregnant.
Yes, hCG injections can sometimes lead to false pregnancy tests. That is, it might show positive results even though you are not pregnant. This is due to the hCG levels now present in your body.
Urine and blood pregnancy tests give you results by measuring the hCG levels in the body. Your hCG levels will be high after an hCG injection, thus causing a false pregnancy test.
Yes, once the embryo is implanted in the uterus, your body starts producing high levels of hCG hormones. They are responsible for the early pregnancy symptoms you experience, like nausea, vomiting, breast tenderness, mood swings, etc.
hCG injections stimulate the ovaries to produce mature eggs. Sometimes, more than one egg might get fertilized and cause twins, triplets, or sometimes quadruplets.
