It is difficult to cite any one normal quantitative hCG level for any point in pregnancy, because individual women have wide variation in hCG levels based on the lengths of their menstrual cycles and other factors.
The hCG doubling time, over two separate blood tests spread over a period of days, usually provides more useful information than a single hCG level when evaluating a pregnancy.
That being said, the American Pregnancy Association cites the following chart as normal ranges of hCG for the number of weeks after the woman’s last menstrual period:
- 3 weeks: 5 - 50 mIU/ml
- 4 weeks: 5 - 426 mIU/ml
- 5 weeks: 18 - 7,340 mIU/ml
- 6 weeks: 1,080 - 56,500 mIU/ml
- 7 - 8 weeks: 7, 650 - 229,000 mIU/ml
- 9 - 12 weeks: 25,700 - 288,000 mIU/ml
- 13 - 16 weeks: 13,300 - 254,000 mIU/ml
- 17 - 24 weeks: 4,060 - 165,400 mIU/ml
- 25 - 40 weeks: 3,640 - 117,000 mIU/ml
- Non-pregnant women: <5.0 mIU/ml
- Postmenopausal women: <9.5 mIU/ml
Remember that these ranges are based on the length of the pregnancy dated from the last menstrual period, and any woman with abnormal cycles may see variation in these ranges. For example, a woman with six-week menstrual cycles at eight weeks after her last menstrual period should fall roughly in the same range as a woman with four-week menstrual cycles would at four weeks after her last menstrual period.
If you are concerned about your hCG levels, you should direct your questions to your physician and try not to read too much in to any single measurement.
Sources:
American Pregnancy Association, "Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG): The Pregnancy Hormone." July 2007. Accessed 17 Jan 2008.
