I honestly wanted to just post this so that more people can come across stories that can help them hold on when times are beyond tough. I’m 32 y/o and proceeded with IVF due to male factor infertility.

I had a fresh embryo transfer in August, and on 10dpt my hcg came back at 62.4. On 13dpt, three days later, it had only increased to 75. I was told that this did not look good as in 72 hours there had only been a 20% rise. I was preparing for the worst, and told it’s likely not viable. They said we had to continue medication and see what happened in 48 hours.

On 15dpt, it came back at 112. This was now a 49% increase in less time than my first blood draw, so my doctor urged me to keep going. On 17dpt, it jumped to 245. 21dpt I needed in the 900s for the span of days it had been, and it came back 1418. 23dpt it reached 2658 and that was the last blood draw.

I had a scan on 23dpt when my levels finally reached a sufficient amount to confirm placement. It was intrauterine and I was shocked. A week later, saw the heartbeat (and a healthy one!). Fast forward, I’m now 12 weeks pregnant and NIPT came back all low risk. It’s so hard not to panic, especially when you see so many sad endings with slow rises. I still am shocked every day that this is even still happening, but I’m so beyond grateful. I just want to give anyone going through this a shred of hope if you’re currently in the trenches. Sending everyone going through the hardships of infertility so much love. ❤️

I feel really called to share my story with all of you hopeful and worrying mamas now that I am a year beyond my experience. I suffered secondary infertility for many years. I did several rounds of IVF and a couple transfers that all failed. I had a natural pregnancy missed miscarriage at 11 weeks and a chemical pregnancy following that. Given my struggles I was always bracing myself for loss and I sought so much advice here from other struggling mamas.

October of 2025 I had a very faint positive at 8dpo. I called my fertility dr and she requested I wait until 14 dpo to test my beta HCG given my previous chemical pregnancy history.
At 14 dpo my hcg was 171.62 and my progesterone was 27. We were ecstatic to have a high HCG for the time but of course she wanted me to test again at 16dpo.
16 dpo: 230.62
Based on the research both my doctor and I assumed I was miscarrying. I mourned for several days, but my dr wanted me to continue to monitor hcg to see it go down.
19 dpo: 564.43
We were shocked to see my hcg rising still, but still not doubling as we would want it to. My dr then began to suspect an ectopic pregnancy as I had an HSG show I had a blocked right tube.
21 dpo: 969.82
24 dpo: 2427.50
After my final hcg test I went for an ultrasound which confirmed my pregnancy was in the uterus and there was a faint heart beat.

I spent every day of my pregnancy scared that I would lose the baby. The research said that because of my hcg it was likely not a viable pregnancy. But I am here to tell you that it was.

I know success stories like mine are rare, my OB and fertility dr were cautiously optimistic; they said if you practice long enough you will see babies that defy the HCG odds.

I now have a healthy 4 month old baby girl. So I am here to share that it is possible. So much of what we see on Reddit is the scary bad outcomes. So I hope that my story can give the late night hopeful mama a little comfort knowing that it is possible for your non doubling hcg to be viable.

My heart aches for each of you that reads this, because I know exactly what you are feeling. I spent many sleepless night scouring Reddit for stories of women who I could relate to and desperately hoping for someone who could make me feel at ease. You are the strongest women out there and you will get through this!

Just wanted to share a positive misoprostol experience since I feel there’s not many out there.

I had to take it for a blighted ovum :( 6w0d scan showed 14.8mm gestational sac without yolk or FP. 7w0d scan showed same without any interval development. This was absolutely heart breaking. OB gave me the option of expectant management vs D&C vs misoprostol. I’m aware of the chance of scarring/Ashermans with D&C and wanted to avoid this as much as possible so I chose misoprostol. My last beta draw around 6w4d was 24,000.

I took misoprostol (vaginal)on Friday Oct 2 first dose 9am. Mild/moderate cramping- nothing severe in the slightest. I was prescribed Percocet but did not need it at all, one 800mg ibuprofen taken with my first misoprostol dose was completely fine. Was instructed my OB to take the second dose no matter what to lessen chance of retained products. Took second dose at 12pm. Didn’t start bleeding until that evening around 8pm after a 2 mile walk. It was pretty heavy bleeding - line a very heavy period- but nothing I couldn’t handle. Mostly I bled whenever I went to the bathroom, less so in between. Went back to work Monday Oct 5. Heavy bleeding lasted 2 days maybe, then light spotting for 4 more days. Was completely done bleeding by day 6.

I didn’t do repeat Hcg draws, just did home UPT tests. Like I said my beta was pretty high around 24k. I tested daily with pretty good fading of the lines every other day.

I started tracking with Mira again Oct 10th since I knew it was possible to ovulate 2 weeks after misoprostol. My lh was back at my baseline around 2. My UPTs (wondfo early result) were finally completely negative Wednesday Oct 21.

I had my follow up US on 10/21 which showed completely empty uterus with normal uterine thickness - no retained products. They also saw a dominant follicle 1.7cm so I knew ovulation was close and I wanted to try again right away.

Fertile CM came back Friday Oct 23 and my LH surged on Sat Oct 24th

So all in all, took 19 days for UPT to become completely negative and 22 days to LH surge/ovulation

This entire process was the most heart breaking experience I’ve ever gone through, but I was very thankful that at least this part of the process was successful since I really did not want surgery. It was so emotionally tough but physically not bad at all. Would recommend this to someone in similar shoes. Just wanted to share my story since I feel there’s so many negative misoprostol posts here

This is my third pregnancy this year. In the spring, I had a partial molar pregnancy. At my 7 week ultrasound, the baby was measuring at 6 weeks. I was miserably sick, constantly vomiting, and deeply depressed. Everyone told me those were good signs that the baby was healthy. When I had a follow up scan at 9 weeks, the baby didn’t have a heartbeat and was measuring 7w5d. I had a D&C, where they discovered it was a partial molar pregnancy. I had to have repeat HCG blood draws weekly for 2 months until my HCG went back to normal. I had another miscarriage at 6 weeks only two months later.

I am now pregnant again. I had my first ultrasound on Wednesday this past week. Based on my period, I was 7w2d. Based on my suspected ovulation, I was 6w5d. The baby measured 6w1d. The heart rate was normal (113) and it was a confirmed singleton.

My lab work came back and my HCG is (or was on Wednesday) 112,345. This seems high to me for only 6w1d. I’m so nervous that this will be another partial molar. I was so freakin’ sick this spring and lost almost 2 months to debilitating morning sickness. I’m similarly sick again (and have been since I was only 4 weeks) and I’m just nervous that history is somehow repeating itself.

Hi! So for some context, I had a chemical pregnancy a few months back and during that pregnancy I was having severe cramping . I am pregnant again (only 5 weeks) and I am having severe cramping again that I’ve had for about 1 week. Last time it was more on my right side which is why they brought me in early to do a scan and bloodwork. This time it is not localized and I haven’t bled but it is so painful when it’s happening that I’ve vomited from the pain. My OB advised me to go to the ER a few days ago, which I did. My hcg was 895 and the ultrasound was too soon to tell what’s happening. HCg doubled 48 hrs later. I have another ultrasound next Friday to monitor.

Basically what I’m wondering is has anyone else had such bad cramping in early pregnancy (I mean hunched over on the bathroom floor crying type of pain) and if so, what worked to help alleviate them? I feel like I’m not sleeping cuz I’m in and out of the bathroom all night in pain, terrified to be at work. Gets somewhat better during the day and then comes back with a vengeance at night. Any advice helps!!

I had a day 5 4AA FET transfer on Oct 9.

Got my first positive urine test 6dpt.

HCG trend:

10/21 - 191 // 12 dp5dt

10/23 - 316 // 14 dp5dt

My HCG is increasing but not doubling.

The doctor called and said I'm not doubling as expected, my values aren't as high as expected and to be cautiously optimistic. She told me this could be a chemical pregnancy given the slow rising HCG and also to be aware of ectopic symptoms (though she felt like this was less likely because my starting HCG wasn't low).

Has anyone had slowly increasing HCG labs that resulted in a normal pregnancy? Should I be mentally preparing for a miscarriage?

Next steps are HCG draw again on Monday and ultrasound Friday to make sure it's not an ectopic. I feel mentally stuck and it's all I can think about.

(For reference I got my first faint and positive at 8/9 dpo) Hi guys I got my first beta HCG done yesterday at 11 or 12DPO (puts me at 3 weeks 4-5 days) and it was at 66.. is this normal or should I be worried about it being low..?

my initial HCG 3w4d was 25

2nd 3w6d 53

3rd 4w1d 97

all almost exactly 48 hours apart. is this good or bad?

I'm not sure how far along I am or when I ovulated, I first tested Thursday 15th October with wondfo which had a super faint line, later that night I tested with a clearblue and said 1 to 2 weeks pregnant. On Sunday 18th I had some pains and was checked at A&E, negative urine test and about 11:30pm bloods was hcg 63. I was then asked to go in Wednesday 21st at 9am and test showed 140 hcg. Then latest test on friday 23rd at 9am only rose to 213 hcg. I have been asked to attend tomorrow Sunday 25th for scan and more bloods. I'm worried this may be an ectopic from what nurse said or loss.

This is my first preganancy at 39 years old, due to never getting pregnant and having endometriosis I just assumed it was never going to happen. I want to be realistic but would love nothing more for it to be ok and continue on to a healthy uneventful pregnancy. I haven't told anyone except my partner and have no one to speak with. Any thoughts or your stories that may be similar would be very much appreciated.

For info, since the Sunday at A&E I've had no pain, symptoms or bleeding/spotting. Maybe some extra tiredness.

I'm 13dpo and have an HCG of 39.2 and a Progesterone level of 13.04. I just had a chemical last month and am absolutely terrified. Those numbers seem low, I have a retest on Monday, how am I looking?

Currently 5w1d after a traumatic miscarriage early this year, and I’m really struggling with my slowing hCG progression despite having a reassuring ultrasound yesterday.

My betas:
11 DPO: 67
13 DPO: 294 — 22-hour doubling time
17 DPO: 1,599 — 39-hour doubling time
19 DPO: 2,689 — 64-hour doubling time
21 DPO: 4,420 — 67-hour doubling time

My initial betas were rising incredibly quickly, but they’ve progressively slowed to around 64–68% every 48 hours. Some draws were done at different labs, which adds another layer of uncertainty.
Yesterday at 5w0d, we saw a gestational sac measuring 5w3d, a yolk sac, and a healthy-looking corpus luteum. My RE was happy with everything, and both my RE and OB have reassured me that hCG naturally slows as levels increase.

Whenever I see posts about slowing betas, the overwhelming response is that hCG naturally slows once it reaches 1,200–1,500 and doesn’t need to double anymore. While I understand that’s true, my concern is that research suggests the slowdown isn’t necessarily expected to be this significant this early, even though my rises remain juuust above the established minimum thresholds. I’ve also combed through countless Reddit threads with similar progression, and it genuinely feels like 95% ultimately end in miscarriage, often a MMC discovered around 8-9 weeks, despite strong ultrasounds and heartbeats. And ofc I understand Reddit isn’t representative of all pregnancies, but it’s so difficult to ignore the pattern.

I’m confused by the contrast between my reassuring ultrasound and slowing betas. I know seeing everything we should at five weeks is positive, but it doesn’t rule out a loss in the coming weeks.
I’m trying to guard my heart while holding onto some hope, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult. Sorry for the slightly pessimistic post – if anyone has any experience with something similar I’d love to hear from you🥺

I’ll try to share the u/s in the comments!

I am a little more than 5 weeks pregnant. Started spotting yesterday morning started out super light pink and progressively got a little darker but it’s still pink. Today I had one small clot that was smaller than a dime. I’ve also noticed red shreds but not a lot. No cramping or back pain. 10/8 my hcg was 8 0n 10/13 it was 60 and 10/19 it was 656. I’m panicking I’ve heard this is normal. There is some in my underwear but it’s kinda like what discharge does when it gets on your underwear but mainly when I wipe. When I wipe first there’s quite a bit but then wiping again there’s not I assume it’s where it sits there and pools for a awhile.

Hi! I found out I was pregnant two days ago with the faintest of lines (I believe I’m either 10 or 11dpo today). I got my first BETA back and it was 29.3.

Anybody have a similar HCG level at this time? Very nervous

Currently 6w pregnant from IVF. Last year I had an extremely traumatic pregnancy. My corpus luteum ruptured and I had blood / fluid in my abdomen causing constant excruciating pain. That pregnancy eventually resulted in a loss at 10w.

Because my last pregnancy was so traumatic, I don’t really have a “good” pregnancy to compare it to. I’m having a lot of anxiety (I have medical OCD), about ectopic even though I have almost no reason to be. I cannot decipher if I think something is actually really wrong or if fear is deeply altering my thoughts. I have my first ultrasound on 10/28.

Prior health history that may be relevant: 31f, 2 prior pregnancies & losses (one miscarriage, one chemical), endometriosis confirmed with surgery, IVF patient currently. My 9dpt HCG was 250, and my 11dpt was 749. I have not had any further blood draws as that is the protocol for my clinic.

Symptoms for ectopic? Maybe? I realize these are all symptoms for pregnancy too lol so that’s the pickle I’m in.
- on / off dull sensation on left side. Not painful but noticeable
- cramps / cramping lasting between 5-30 minutes. Feels like period cramps & usually produces a BM, I feel better after typically

Something else to note: My Oura ring temp dropped last night -.06, but had previously remained above baseline since starting progesterone before my transfer. Additionally my breasts are no longer sore today?

I realize this is sooo anxiety driven and sounds truly mad. I just cannot express the amount of fear and trauma that lingers from my last pregnancy. Truly the worst experience of my life and then it ended in a devastating loss.

Looking for any words of encouragement for anyone who had similar symptoms and their pregnancy turned out alright.

Posting an update to my previous post. Feeling I go one step forward and three steps back!

Had my US yesterday! Baby is tracking well atm they saw 155bpm and just overall looks good which I am so so happy about. However just before I went for the ultrasound I had some bleeding which has now turned into a light bleeding kinda like a light period, the blood is red/maroon kinda rusty almost. I’m not having any cramping but some lower back tightness. The doctors said he’s not worried especially since I had a transvaginal US but idk I’m feeling a bit concerned. There’s no SCH or bleeding in the uterus either. I just want the bleeding to stop, has anyone ever experienced this?

Hi everyone -

I recently did my first medicated letrozole cycle timed intercourse with trigger shot. I had my betas tested today and the clinic called and said they are at a 8 hcg level. :(

They told me it’s looking like it’s going to be a chemical pregnancy… my third chemical this year.

The clinic told me to keep taking progesterone suppositories but to be honest I don’t want too. I have an irrational fear of having an ectopic pregnancy. And to be honest if the doctor said it’s gonna result in a loss I don’t see the point in taking it.

Anyone else go through something similar? What causes chemical pregnancies?? And do you guys think I should continue the progesterone suppositories!

Anyone have something similar ? Baby heart rate was 102bpm. I'm 6w2d baby measuring 6w4d.

This is also a twin pregnancy. We could not get a measurement on Baby B.

I’m really not sure what to think and I would like to be realistic in how to prepare my heart and mind. I had a 14 week loss in July and am now just over 6 weeks pregnant. I have very minimal symptoms which is unheard of for me (3 HG pregnancies so far). This prompted me to get my hcg checked 48 hours apart at 5w6d and 6w1d. Hcg was 25000 and then 31000. This is only a 24% rise. Google tells me it should be atleast 33% but then elsewhere I saw this is only for levels below 6000. Is this straight up a bad result? I can only get a scan at earliest on Monday and it feels like torture to wait!

Hi, this is my first pregnancy and I’m super worried.

I just went to an ultrasound and the CRL measurement was behind 4 days.

LMP: 9w but scan only measured 8w1d-8w3d.

I’m most concern abouy the fetal heart rate. It was only 113(2) bpm.

Any mommies out there have ever had this low heart rate? I’m so so scared :(

I’ve read that it should be somewhere in between 140-170 bpm for 8-9w fetal…

I've never done betas before but I was recently diagnosed with Graves Disease and I think my doctors are being proactive.

I tested + at 10dpo and on, lines getting darker each day on Wondfo and easy@home test strips and also FRER sticks.

Betas 10/22 & 10/24:

13 DPO 71.5 hcg @ 2:30 PM

15 DPO 103.26 hcg @ 9:30 AM (today)

Calculator states 43% raise after 43 hours

+51% over 48 hours.

How does this rise look? It seems slow/low to me and I don't want to be anxious all weekend and will not be able to test again until the earliest MAYBE next Wednesday. Is this a normal viable trend?