Progesterone has a far more reaching affect than just making you feel hormonally imbalanced and a little bit tired. It can be the reason why you having trouble conceiving. It can also be responsible for early miscarriage. Recently, we discussed the effects Progesterone deficiency on a woman’s body but we only briefly touched on the issues of infertility and early miscarriage. Today we investigate these connections further and in more detail.
Why women need progesterone and how it affects reproduction
Progesterone is one of 3 main sex hormones that a woman needs to maintain a good overall hormone balance and to control all reproductive and menstrual functions. Progesterone works to calm the effects of Estrogen but it is also essential for your menstrual health. In order to conceive and carry a pregnancy full term you need to have a strong and healthy uterus.
Progesterone is used by the body to help regulate the menstrual cycle and to keep the reproductive system healthy. Without a regular menstrual cycle it can be hard to conceive as the ovulation pattern is inconsistent. The use of an ovulation kit might help but if you are not menstruating regularly then the ovaries are not releasing eggs monthly as they should be. Therefore, your menstruation cycle does not follow the same rules as women who ovulate regularly. Menstruation and ovulation are crucial to reproductive health. Many doctors suggest using natural progesterone as a way of assisting fertility. A cream like Profeme can help to increase progesterone levels which, in turn calms the Estrogen dominance and improves regular menstruation. It also assists in strengthening the uterus so it’s more receptive to conceiving. According to Stanford research ovulation and menstrual issues account for around 30% of women’s inability to conceive. There are many different causes of infertility. This is just one reason. According to the NHS in the UK, 25-30% is unexplainable. You can find out more on basic infertility reasons here.
Once you have conceived, Progesterone is needed to strengthen the uterine lining so it remains strong enough to hold the pregnancy until the placenta kicks in at the end of the first trimester, between 6-10 weeks. Normally during pregnancy a woman’s body naturally starts to produce more progesterone to cover this function. However, sometimes not enough is produced, sometimes no extra progesterone is produced and sometimes it’s just not as effective as it needs to be. This means that the uterine lining breaks down and the pregnancy results in a miscarriage.
If you have suffered from more than 1 early miscarriage, a good treatment option would be to use a natural progesterone replacement therapy. Progesterone treatments help the body to maintain sufficient levels throughout the conception and pregnancy and can therefore help conception and see your pregnancy along to full term.
Different doses can be applied depending on how far along you are in the pregnancy. If you have trouble conceiving then a low dose of progesterone can be used in while you are trying to conceive and in the early stages until conception is confirmed. Then you can increase the dose. If you conceived without the help of progesterone treatment but have suffered early miscarriage in the past or start spotting in the first few weeks of being pregnant then you can go straight into applying a high dose.
Do not start taking medication or supplements without consulting your healthcare provider. Here is a free downloadable booklet explains more on the link between progesterone, infertility and early miscarriage with this FREE downloadable booklet.