Time Frame

• HCG levels build up rapidly during the first trimester, as much as doubling every few days, and then gradually decline through the rest of the pregnancy.
  
  

Identification

• According to the American Pregnancy Association, hCG levels of up to 288,000 mIU/ml are within the normal range for pregnant women.
  
  

Significance

• HCG levels are not usually monitored through pregnancy unless a problem is suspected; then doctors will test levels and make a diagnosis.
  
  

Effects

• Two potential reasons for high hCG levels are: twins (or multiples) or molar pregnancies, which are fertilized eggs that have grown into a mass of random cells rather than an embryo.
  
  

Considerations

• If you were undergoing fertility treatments, there's a chance you were given hCG injections that would cause unusually high hCG levels at the beginning of an otherwise regular pregnancy.