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Published on: May 30, 2006
Last modification: May 30, 2006
Progesterone levels & Pregnancy
by MariAnne|
The progesterone test is a common doctor’s choice as a diagnostic method. Progesterone level test measures the amount of the hormone progesterone in a blood sample. Progesterone is a female hormone produced by the ovaries during the release of a mature egg from the ovaries, or ovulation. Progesterone helps prepare the lining of the uterus to receive the egg if a sperm fertilizes it. If it does not happen, progesterone levels drop and menstrual bleeding begins. During pregnancy, the placenta produces high levels of progesterone, starting near the end of the first trimester and continuing until the baby is born. Levels of progesterone are about 10 times higher in a pregnant woman than they in a non-pregnant woman. Moreover, some types of cancer cause abnormal progesterone levels in both men and women. Why are progesterone levels measured?A progesterone test helps find the cause of infertility, monitor the success of medications for infertility or the effect of treatment with progesterone, determine whether ovulation is occurring, assess the risk of miscarriage and monitor the function of the ovaries and placenta during pregnancy. Progesterone tests also help diagnose problems with the adrenal glands and some types of cancer. If your doctor found it necessary for you to have a progesterone test you should stop taking medications, including birth control pills that contain estrogen or progesterone or both, for up to 4 weeks before having the test. You should also tell your health professional if you have had a test that used a radioactive substance within the last 7 days. Recent tests such as a thyroid scan or bone scan that used a radioactive tracer can interfere with the test results for progesterone levels. Let your health professional know the first day of your last menstrual period and if your bleeding pattern is light or begins with spotting; the first day is the day of heaviest bleeding.  You should also talk to your health professional about any concerns you have regarding the need for the test, its risks, or what the results might indicate. How is the progesterone levels test performed?The health professional will wrap an elastic band around your upper arm to stop the flow of blood. This makes the veins below the band larger, so it is easier to put a needle into a vein. The doctor should clean the needle site with alcohol and then put the needle into the vein. He might need more than one needle stick. He will attach a tube to the needle to fill it with blood and then remove the band from your arm when enough blood is collected. After this, he will apply a gauze pad or cotton ball over the needle site as the needle is removed (you should apply pressure to the site) and then a bandage. For a woman having problems with her menstrual cycle or with getting pregnant, more than one blood sample may be necessary for progesterone testing to help identify the problem. It is the best to take a sample each day for several days in a row. Progesterone in pregnancyThe progesterone levels in early pregnancy ordinarily doubles or triples during the first several weeks a woman is pregnant. The body should produce progesterone every day during pregnancy, while in the regular menstrual period progesterone produces at ovulation and for about 14 more days. To protect the fetus, the progesterone levels during pregnancy then rise to as much as 10 to 15 times their normal amount by the third trimester. In other words, the progesterone levels during pregnancy can be as much as 300mg to 400mg per day. For women trying to become pregnant, an adequate amount of natural progesterone is crucial because this hormone prepares the uterine wall for the implantation of a fertilized  egg. Low levels of progesterone and early pregnancy can result in the loss of the embryo during miscarriage. The progesterone levels in early pregnancy have a major role in maintaining a pregnancy during the early months so it is important for you to discuss your progesterone levels during pregnancy with your doctor. During pregnancy, progesterone prevents the premature shedding of the uterine lining, which is to say that any drop in progesterone levels could result in the loss of the embryo. Miscarriage is a well-known unpleasant fact for too many women. What many women do not know is that most of the progesterone produced during the last two trimesters of pregnancy produce the placenta. Pregnancy is a powerful physical, emotional and spiritual experience for a woman. As a pregnancy progresses, the placenta must produce an ever-increasing amount of progesterone until the birth of the baby to support the fetus and the health of the mother. In fact, during the third trimester, the placenta will be creating up to 300-400 milligrams of progesterone per day. This is ten times the usual amount made during ovulation. It therefore comes as no surprise that after the birth of the baby and the loss of the placenta, progesterone production and levels drop very suddenly. Applying a natural progesterone cream can help keep body levels of progesterone high during pregnancy. This is important just in case there might be a shortage in the mother’s system. Moreover, after pregnancy, applying a natural progesterone cream can be very helpful in keeping the symptoms of postpartum depression from happening. There are different medical and non-medical symptoms among the very early signs of pregnancy among women. For some, very early signs will mean the only faintest physical signs, which are almost undetectable to any but the woman herself. During pregnancy the effects of estrogen are: enlarging the uterus and the genitals, stimulating the milk glands and enlarging the breasts, increasing blood volume by 30%, and causing fluid retention. During pregnancy, the effects of progesterone are: stimulating the growth of the placenta, stimulating the growth of cells that feed the embryo, and preparing the breasts for milk production. When using a natural progesterone cream, all you do is apply it directly to your skin, and from there it is absorbed into the underlying fat layer. Then, the progesterone can be absorbed into the blood stream on a continuous basis, as the body needs it. Doctors suggest for women to use this cream from conception to delivery, applied primarily to the abdomen, breast, lower back, and upper thighs. These areas of the body are the best because there it will prevent the skin from stretching, which is a common problem in pregnancy. For the first two trimesters of pregnancy, you should use an average of one-half to three-quarters of a teaspoon, 2-3 times a day and during the last trimester, apply one teaspoon 2-3 times a day. Discontinue at delivery and resume at one-quarter teaspoon twice per day beginning one month after delivery. Natural progesterone cream is extremely useful for post-partum depression, which is common for many women after childbirth. What are very early pregnancy signs and symptoms?Some women can detect the moment when they experience ovulation, although many women cannot tell exactly. Some women can also detect when their fertile period of the month has ended. Similarly, some can detect the moment they have become pregnant. For others, one of the standard medical tests is the only reliable way to discern the very early pregnancy signs and symptoms, although for many, the earliest of the very early signs of pregnancy are the most frequently found physical symptoms common to most women. * Missed period are regarded as the most obvious of very early pregnancy signs and symptoms. However, it is well known that many women miss periods for different health reasons and conditions, such as illness, stress, adverse reaction to food and substances. * Morning sickness is frequently regarded as another obvious example of early pregnancy symptoms. However, this very early sign not only needs to be considered for several days for reliable results, but also can have unrelated causes. * Sore and enlarged breasts are a symptom because early pregnancy begins a series of changes in the woman’s normal hormonal levels. However, the woman’s body is not prepared for these changes when they first occur, so there are several reactions that happen in her body in reaction to the new hormone levels. The most obvious of those is the change in shape of, and feelings of soreness in, the breasts. * Frequent trips to the bathroom are symptom many women experience in early pregnancy. Many women begin urinating at an increased frequency even before they have a missed period. The reason for this is a change in hormone levels produced by the implantation of the embryo. Specifically, the hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin produce, which has the side effect of causing frequent urination. * Fatigue is another of the first signs of pregnancy, which is sometimes hard to distinguish from other, more regularly felt kinds of exhaustion. Some health professionals attribute this fatigue to the change in hormones in the woman’s body, which mostly disappears as the body adjusts to the changes. |
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