Week 8 & 9 - Gestational Age (Fetal Age 6-7 weeks)

By this point in the pregnancy, everything that is present in an adult human is present in the developing embryo. The embryo has reached the end of the embryonic stage and now enters the fetal stage. A strong fetal heartbeat should be detectable by ultrasound, with a heartbeat of 140-170 bpm by the 9th week. If a strong heartbeat is not detected at this point, another ultrasound scan may be done to verify the viability of the fetus. If a pregnancy has been diagnosed as non-viable, most physicians will give the choice of waiting to see if the body will miscarry naturally (pending no other health issues) or to have a Dilation & Curettage (D&C) procedure. About 50% of women do not undergo a D&C procedure when an early pregnancy loss has occurred.

Guideline to Progesterone levels during pregnancy:

• 1-28 ng/ml Mid Luteal Phase (Average is over 10 for un-medicated cycles and over 15 with medication use)
• 9-47 ng/ml First trimester
• 17-146 ng/ml Second Trimester
• 49-300 ng/ml Third Trimester

These numbers are just a GUIDELINE -- every woman’s hormone level can rise differently. It is not necessarily the level that matters but rather the change in the level.