# what is a chemical pregnancy?



## Guest (May 17, 2005)

I did an hpt 7dpt to check it was negative, ensuring hcg trigger had gone from my system.  

I did another test 9dpt and there was a feint line. 

Another test 11dpt showed negative, and af arrived 12dpt. 

My question - what did the feint line mean?  

I'm not clutching at straws, as I know it's all over this time, but am very curious to know whether it 'kind of worked'. 

Any words of wisdom from anyone?  

Thanks, 
KathY


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## suzy (Oct 12, 2003)

Hi Kathy,

It sounds to me as if you've had a chemical pregnancy - that is a pregnancy that is detectable by a preg test, but not yet on a scan - usually it refers to a miscarriage that happens after a positive pregnancy test, but before the pregnancy is detected or detectable on a scan. The "chemical" refers to detection of the hormone. 

The same thing happened to me on a natural cycle. Two days after my af was due to start, the test was faintly pos, the day after less faint. The hcg was 40 and two days later 35 - too early to see anything on a scan, but for hcg to be present, fertilization and implantation occured. I went on to bleed a week after my af was due.

I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you, and hope you get the result you want soon,

Suzy


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## Bella_Bella (Mar 10, 2005)

Good question kathy. i'd wondered this to.
Thanks suzy for the explanation.

Kathy, good news is that now you know you can get pregnant.
best wishes & good luck
Bella


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## Nicky1 ☺ ☺ (Jul 9, 2004)

Hi Kathy, 

A chem' pregnancy is when the egg fertilizes (this gives you a +ve HPT) but doesn't implant which then gives you a -ve HPT. It is quite common but I suppose alot of women don't realize if they don't test as AF still shows up.

A friend of mine was terrible for peeing on sticks throughout her cycle and quite a few times has had these `chem' pregnancies`, each time she got excited, and each time she retested at the right time the tests had gone from +ve to -ve. (She is now 7 weeks PG!!  So it can happen  )

Good luck to you Hun
Nicky x x x


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## Mrs CW (Jul 12, 2004)

Hi kathy
sorry about your BFN.  Biochemicals are really quite tough as you get so hopeful then AF arrives and a negative test and you feel really let down that you were so near and yet still so far.....

Still you sound quite pragmatic about it, and yes, it means you were nearly there.  When I had one I tested with a feint +ve at 14dpt, another stronger feint line, only to get AF the next day and then test -ve.  I called my clinic and went for a blood test 16dpt to check and it was < 4 by then, so long gone.  My clinic told me they consider a beta HCG blood result of over 4 a possible viable pg but less than 4 is biochemical pg.  A home test will normally pick up an HCG of about 25.  The clinic said the HPT feint line was picking up residual levels of HCG which had been declining after the embryo had probably failed to implant a few days previously. Hence the positive followed by a neg test.

You should tell your clinic what happened because mine said they considered it as a pregnancy, no matter how short lived, and it meant I had to wait a month longer between treatment cycles to get my body back to normal than if it had simply been a BFN. 

Although it means possibly a slightly longer wait for tx, when it happened to me someone on this site told me that research had shown that women who have had a biochemical pg go on to get pg in their next cycle in greater numbers than those who have had a straight BFN.  And it happened for me!  So think on that and stay positive!! 

I can look up the research for you if you want, I still have it somewhere.  It inspired me to carry on...

best of luck,
Claire x


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