Integral to Pregnancy
Follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH, makes up an important part of the female menstrual and reproductive cycles. In order to conceive, there must be an egg ready and waiting for fertilisation; and in order for the egg to be released, FSH must be present. FSH works by stimulating and supporting the follicles within the ovary, driving them to grow until the single dominant ovarian follicle bursts, releasing an egg into the fallopian tube. In some cases, two follicles become dominant and burst, which may result in fraternal twins if both eggs are fertilised. Without the presence of FSH, eggs would not be released. After ovulation, the body's FSH levels drop sharply, killing off all follicles within the ovary until the next follicular phase (approximately four weeks later).
The egg travels down the fallopian tube and into the uterus, where it settles into the endometrial lining. If fertilised along its journey, this is the point at which conception occurs, and a rapid-fire series of chemical changes begin to happen. One of these is the presence of hCG, human Chorionic Gonadotropin, a hormone produced by a fertilised and implanted egg. This hormone can be measured by an hCG pregnancy test to determine pregnancy.
If the egg is unfertilised, it remains there for up to thirty-six hours, at which point it withers and dies. HCG is not produced in this case, and an hCG pregnancy test will come back negative.
Partners in Reproduction
FSH works closely with a similar hormone, luteinizing hormone (LH). Luteinizing hormone spikes immediately before FSH, signalling the beginning of the follicular stimulation phase. Both hormones, as well as hCG, can be used in fertility treatments to infertile and subfertile people, although hCG's prime importance in the female body is as a measurement of pregnancy.
Because FSH and LH are so similar in structure and fulfill other reproductive duties within the body, they are useless as a measurement of pregnancy. These hormones are common in people over the age of puberty, when they initially began to help with the maturation of ovarian follicles in women and seminiferous tubules in men. Thus, hCG, which is unique to the process of pregnancy (except in highly unusual cases), has been used since the 1970s as an indicator of pregnancy.
What is hCG?
HCG is a hormone produced by an implanted embryo and, later, the placenta surrounding the fetus. Its presence is noted in combination with certain diseases of the liver, some cancers, and reproductive anomalies, but it is most commonly found only in the systems of pregnant women. The hCG pregnancy test has been on the market since the early 1970s and shows no signs of losing popularity.
The longer a fertilised egg is inside a woman, the higher the levels of hCG. Detecting these can give an easy answer to the question of pregnancy. An hCG pregnancy test is an easy, quick, and painless way of finding out in the comfort of one's own home.
However, through no fault of the test manufacturer's, no hCG pregnancy test is absolutely accurate. Errors in usage, unnoticed or ignored expiration dates, and badly timed testing can all result in a false response from the hCG pregnancy test. Luckily, doctors have a more sensitive hCG pregnancy test which they can perform when a definitive answer is needed.
Although the invention of the hCG pregnancy test has changed the face of modern reproductive medicine, the applications of FSH and LH as fertility enhancement drugs will help to build its future. HCG has been a common fertility enhancement that rendered its users unable to use an hCG pregnancy test, simply because they would automatically get a positive result. The hCG pregnancy test is not sophisticated enough to tell whether the hormone is being used to stimulate fertility, or being produced by an actively implanted embryo. Now that FSH and LH can be employed to help create the tools of fertility in both men and women, hCG pregnancy tests can be used by anyone taking a fertility supplement at the same time.
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