Featured Questions, Comments and Responses

Subject: chemical/hormones in blood
Question: Can you tell me what chemical or hormone in the blood determines pregnancy when a woman is tested? I need this information for a novel I'm writing.
Thank you,
Edwina

Answer: Thank you for your question. Most pregnancy tests are designed to detect hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin. Following implantation the blastocyst (embryo) secretes human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) which maintains the endometrium (uterine wall) and therefore no menstruation occurs. The detection of HCG in the urine is the most reliable and basis of nearly all pregnancy tests.

The link below will direct you to a website containing information on the currently available pregnancy tests, plus a list of FAQ.

http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/hpt.html