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| | The Let Your Sunshine In Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Infertility & Miscarriage and progesterone | Views: 2090 | | Oct 08, 2005 5:40 am | | Infertility & Miscarriage and progesterone | # | 
Nita Lopez | | Infertility & Miscarriage and progesterone
Low progesterone levels linked to ectopic pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy is usually suggested by the typical triad of a positive pregnancy test, pain, and vaginal spotting.
According to a study done by Dr. Buckley and colleagues and published in 2000 (Ann Emerg Med 2000 Aug;36(2):95-100), they concluded that all patients with an ectopic pregnancy had a progesterone level below 22 ng/ml.
Of the patients with a progesterone level below 22 ng/ml, 10% had an ectopic pregnancy, but none of the patients with progesterone over 22 had an ectopic pregnancy. Of the patients who did not have an ectopic pregnancy, 73% had a progesterone level below 22 ng/ml.
Luteal phase deficiency
Progesterone therapy is recommended for women who have infertility (or habitual miscarriages) secondary to a problem called luteal phase deficiency.
Luteal phase deficiency is a result of inadequate production of progesterone by the ovaries during the second half of the menstrual cycle. The ovaries continue to make progesterone during the first 8-10 weeks of pregnancy (since the last menstrual period).
If there is insufficient progesterone during early pregnancy, the embryo may not survive. After this 8-10 week interval, the placenta becomes a major source of progesterone and the ovarian hormones are no longer needed.
It is assumed that if the ovaries cannot make sufficient progesterone during the latter half of the menstrual cycle, then they would not produce the required amounts of progesterone during pregnancy as well. In women with luteal phase deficiency, it has been customary to extend the progesterone treatment into the early weeks of pregnancy to supplement ovarian production of progesterone.
If a woman has had four or five miscarriages in the first six or eight weeks of a pregnancy, this is always due to luteal phase failure, says Dr. John Lee.
Progesterone is needed to facilitate implantation and to prevent rejection of the developing embryo, but the follicle may not respond to the ovum with enough progesterone. Dr. John Lee's recommendation: "Wait till you ovulate, and then four to six days after possible conception do a blood test (for HCG) to see if you're pregnant. If you are, start the progesterone; that way you will increase you chance of having a healthy baby."
Blood tests for pregnancy tend to be positive within seventy-two hours of conception, whereas he says urine pregnancy tests are not usually positive until two weeks after conception.
Women can develop luteal phase deficiency after receiving the ovulation medications for In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Progesterone is prescribed after to insure against luteal phase deficiency. A new vaginal 8% progesterone gel (Crinone) has been developed for luteal phase support following IVF. The polycarbophil base maintains continuous absorption of progesterone, providing high progesterone concentrations within the uterine cavity. Crinone is undergoing investigation in the USA to determine the impact on IVF pregnancy rates.
Premature delivery
Now, according to one study in New England Journal of Medicine dated June 16, 2003, giving pregnant women the hormone progesterone can reduce their risk of premature delivery by one-third.
"This is really the first innovation that's clearly been shown to prevent or reduce the incidence of premature delivery," said Dr. Charles J. Lockwood, director of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine and former chairman of obstetrical practices of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The study involved women at very high risk of premature delivery. The women previously had at least one baby very early -- at about 31 weeks on average. Full term is considered 37 weeks to 40 weeks. Some of the women received progesterone; a comparison group got shots of an inert oil.
The progesterone proved so effective that the study was halted early because it would have been unethical to keep giving some women a placebo.
"The results are so good that it's surprising," said Dr. Fredric Frigoletto, chief of obstetrics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "No intervention that we have ever applied has had any measurable effect. This is very good news."
Dr. Paul J. Meis, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine said progesterone had been previously toyed with as a preventive treatment for premature births in the 1960s and 1970s, but no one has completed a serious study on the subject.
Estrogen dominance and endometriosis
Endometriosis per se does not cause miscarriage, but those with endo do have a much higher chance of miscarriage as a matter of fact.
The reason is under heavy investigation scientifically, but most in natural medicine field agreed that estrogen dominance plays a big part as the root cause of endometriosis, and if your estrogen is high, it is very hard to get pregnant because your progesterone will be low as a result of the estrogen dominance.
In the case of endometriosis and PCOS, for example, using high levels of progesterone to induce a psuedo-pregnancy state to 'rest' the ovaries has proved quite successful.
Regular periods do not always indicate ovulation
Many women are under the misconception that a regular period each month equals ovulation. Not true. A period can occur regularly in the absence of ovulation.
It's the presence of estrogen in the body that results in the cyclic thickening of the uterine lining in preparation for a fertilised egg. Therefore, a woman with normal or elevated estrogen levels in her body will have a period (perhaps at times irregularly).
The hormone progesterone prepares the lining of a woman's uterus (womb) for a fertilised egg, and maintains the integrity of the uterine lining to promote gestation (pro-gestation). Failure to conceive triggers a drop in progesterone levels resulting in the shedding of the uterine lining (menstruation), and then the cycle starts again.
It's quite common for women to not ovulate every month (anovulatory cycle). This gives rise to estrogen dominance. It also explains why some months you may feel more PMS, and have a heavier shedding (perhaps with clots), indicating a build up due to estrogen influence with no opposing progesterone.
When a woman is physiologically balanced with estrogen and progesterone, ceasing progesterone supplementation can bring on a period within 24 to 36 hours. This is why women are advised to continue taking their progesterone if they suspect they are pregnant because stopping cream and allowing progesterone levels to drop can potentially bring on a miscarriage.
Progesterone may help regulate your periods & trigger ovulation
When used topically, benefits of progesterone supplementation are quite significant in helping regulate periods and bring the body back into synchronisation, and in some cases, triggering ovulation.
Often the introduction of progesterone back into the body can 'crank up' the ovaries, particularly where there has been a considerable shortfall of this hormone in the body. Fertility may follow. If, however, your follicles are depleted, progesterone cannot restore fertility. Appropriate tests can establish your state of fertility.
Catherine Rollins
HERE'S TO OUR HEALTH
Nita Lopez
http://www.ineways.com/forahealthierlife
http://letyoursunshinein-network.ryze.com/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Naturals-FAHL
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