Low Progesterone During Pregnancy

The red flags that you see are certainly worth paying attention to. I took progesterone shots - I asked about the warnings, and all I was told that I could be more sick. That was it. Our daughter was born with SEVERE heart defects. She had two open heart surgeries when she was 14-15 months old, spending 10 weeks in PICU at the University of Michigan Children's Hospital. Many of those weeks we thought we'd lose her. She is now a vibrant 11 year old girl, but will always be on heart medications, and will need more surgeries the rest of her life to "replace parts".

Shortly after she was diagnosed a friend gave me a copy of the legal form she had to sign before taking the same progesterone shots. The warnings told her the risks to her baby: #1 cleft pallate; #2 heart defects (followed by 8 other). I was not told this at all.

I started doing research on it (and going by memory from quite a few years ago), the progesterone shots are a lot stronger and more dangerous than the pills or suppositories. The shots I just got once a week - which was a lot put into my body at one time. The pills I think were 1x a day, and the suppositories a couple of times a day. So these were not as potent, therefore needing them more often.

NOW, if you do not take progesterone, the risk is miscarrying. The reason for taking the shots for me was I had miscarried two times previously. The progesterone definitely did help me sustain the pregnancy. I had more children afterwards, and well before I became pregnant I began using natural progesterone creme. A book I'd highly recommend reading is "What your doctor may not tell you about Menopause" by Dr. Lee. I hate the title as it is more on a woman's cycle and a lot of it explains the need of progesterone.

If you are taking the pills or suppositories, the risk is a lot less than shots. Also, you have to "wean" off of it - not stop it suddenly, as that will make you miscarry as well. Generally it is stopped around 12 weeks - GRADUALLY!

I know some of this sounds scary, but I know I wish I had been informed, yet, despite my daughter's heart defects, I am very thankful for her. I have had 12 children (yes, twelve) and she is the only one with heart defects, so it is not a hereditary type thing.

L.

1 mom found this helpful

Hey there,

I had low progesterone with both children, had 2 MC's because of low prog. and was on prometrium for 13 weeks with both.....both kiddos (2 years and 8 months) are just fine! I would take it just to be safe! Happy and healthy 9 months!!!

I have not personally had to take prometruium, but I belong to a message board community where a few of the ladies have had to take it and all of them have had healthy babies. I do know a couple of ladies who have had early miscarriages because of low progesterone, but the good news is that it's a really easy thing to fix! :) (Both of my friends didn't know they had low progesterone until they got pregnant again, and both of them went on to have healthy pregnancies.)

If you are worried about the type of progesterone your Dr. prescribed, you should call and see if you can talk to someone about it. I'm sure that everything will be just fine and that you'll have a healthy baby in your arms in about 35 weeks! :)

Progestrone has given my friend 4 boys after a previous 3 losses which followed two healthy girls with no trouble during pregnancy. One risk of progestrone is a cleft lip, which can be corrected with surgery if needed, although the risk is low. She had no problems with the prometruium. In discussion, the thought was if the progestrone saved your baby, and you even ended up with a cleft lip, you still had the baby, and you knew you did everything you could to save the pregnancy. I also encourage you to listen to the doctor over the internet. I've had lots of problems myself, and the internet just caused a lot of un due stress. However, make the best decision for yourself, and good luck.

D.. I had 2 low progesterone pregnanies and with both went on prometrium. Both were succussful and my children are now 4 and 1. They're healthy, beautiful, smart and completely normal. My pregnancies were both healthy also. Some women just have low progesterone. TAKE THE PILL !!! The first pregnancy I did the vaginal insert cream which was way pricey and the second I did the pill. I cannot encourage you enough to TAKE THE PILL.... low progesterone will cause you to have a miscarriage TAKE THE PILL! !!!!

My low progesterone pregnancy that I had miscarried since they didn't know until too late. Take the Prometrium, it will be fine. I have 2 beautiful children since then that I used progesterone for. Both were no complication pregnancies and healthy births. You only have to take it the first trimester til pregnancy and placenta are fully established. Sometimes too much info is bad info.... If you don't want to do the prometrium as them if they will do the suppositories (very messy though) for you. That's what I had. The condition will not right itself and if you end up with too much your body will just pass it anyway.
Try not to worry about it, have a great/fun/healthy pregnancy!
C.

D.,
You are absolutely correct to be suspicious. I do not have your answer, but you have a right to know EVERYTHING about what they want you to do.
Be persistent! and good luck.
J.

I have the same problem-extremely low progestrone in early pregnancy. I have had two miscarriages and will now be required to take prometrium in order to keep a pregnancy. Next time we try, I will have to start taking ahead of time they have told me. From my experience, I would take the advice of the doctors! Always good to research.... make sure it's a reputable site. I tend to believe most of what I read on the internet which can be not so good. So I try to make sure now that it's a very reputable site before considering information I read.

~L.

Hi, I wouldn't worry about the progesterone being low. It is standard procedure to give women progesterone after they go through IVF, so it is obvious it doesn't hurt the baby. Also, I know many pregnancies that started with low progesterone and with the supplement, ended in a healthy baby. Good luck and congrats!
Jamielynne

Hi D.:

Yes, I took it for the first three months of my pregnancy. And I had healthy triplets!

My research showed that it is needed to keep the baby safe. Go to a medical site and research it - you may feel more comfortable.

M.

Hi D., congrats on your pregnancy! I would take it. The progesterone supports the fetus until the placenta takes over I think aroun 12 weeks. Low progest. can cause you to lose the baby, but it's not guarented. Last year I was pregnant and had very low progest. and I did miscarry, but three months later I was pregnant again, also low progest. but here I am 34 weeks pregnant:). Both times I took the prometrium. Without it I think I would have miscarried both times. The only side effect I had was extreme tiredness. Good Luck.
J.

I don't know about the medication, but I do know that if your progesterone level is low, you will probably miscarry the pregnancy. Often when women have multiple miscarriages, it's because their progesterone level is too low. I would suggest talking to your physician and skip the secretary. The secretary doesn't normally know much about the meds anyway. I wouldn't wait very long, though.

I've had low progesterone during both of my pregnancies. The first one I took a suppository and I was fine. The 2nd one they perscribed prometrium for. I also read this warning and was very concerned. The reason is that at these high doses, they haven't been tested on pregnant women or in other words, it's not FDA approved for use in pregnancy. The reason they give the Prometrium anyway is because it is very hard for the body to assimilate especially in pill form and it's mostly a placebo. This was also confirmed by my pharmacist. When I finally figured everything out, I was passed the point of needing progesterone supplementation anyway and didn't end up taking anymore. For whatever it's worth, inspite of my concerns, both my babies were born healthy and full term... in fact, the one where I had the least progesterone I went past 41 weeks! If I were you, I'd request suppositories if it helps your peace of mind. Otherwise, you will probably be okay inspite of the low progesterone. I think it's once you get to 10 or 14 weeks successfully, you're in the clear and don't need to take anything more but you can confirm this date/length with your doctor. Blessings with your bundle of joy to come and may you have a healthy, safe pregnancy. HTH

Hi,
I took prometrium for the first 12 weeks of my pregnancy (once a day) and did not have any complications or side effects from it- had a healthy baby boy who is now 8 months old!!
K.

I had the exact same thing happen with my second baby (third pregnancy right after miscarriage). I was scared too, but I took the meds and it all worked out fine! The meds made me extremely naucious, tho. If you are concerned, talk to your doctor, not the nurses. That really eased my mind.