Progesterone Therapy During Pregnancy

I had a miscarriage the first time I was pregnant between 10-11 weeks and it was very devastating. When I got pregnant with my daughter now just over two years old my doctor put me on the progesterone from weeks 6-16 I think, I can't remember how long I was on it but I know I started it around week 6. I had no side effects and my daughter was born very healthy at 7lbs 14oz and I had to be induced because I went past my due date. She is just the happiest little thing and I am so blessed. I am very sensitive to medications and I don't like to take anything either especially when I am pregnant. I think I only took Tylenol once or twice I hate to take it so much, but I had no side effects with it. Hope this helps.

After many doctors and numerous losses in the 1st and 2nd trimester I did some reading on my own and then requested to try progesterone (after 5yrs of trying). I always tested in the lower "normal" zone on all my tests.

It did end up being the key to my issue. I took it with both my pregnancies begining the day I tested positive at home 13 & 15 days past ovulation.

As far as side affects, I didn't experience any that I could distinguish between that and nomal pregnancy symptoms, like fatigue.

HTH
E.

I ad to use the progesterone for all of my four kids. I had five miscarriages before I finally found out that my body did not produce enough of the pregsterone. Now I have 4 wonderful kids ages 10, 6, 4, and 2. I don't remember any side effects. It was just a little hard always running to the lab to have my blood checked every week to make sure that the levels kept going up. Belive me, if I missed a dose you could tell right away in the blood results.I wish you the best in what you decide to do. Take Care. S.

I was on progesterone with my second pregnancy due to having 2 miscarriages between #1 and #2, and he is now 2 1/2. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant with my 3rd and on progesterone again. It helps to strengthen your uterus so that you are able to carry the baby. I have had no side affects and at my last US baby looked great!

Good Luck!

Hi J.,

I'm really sorry to hear about the miscarriages. I also had one last year, and now am 4 weeks pregnant and crossing my fingers. I don’t know a lot about the progesterone therapy, but I think it’s good that your doctor is recommending it, to me it appears he’s being more cautious. I believe I have luteal phase issues that may have caused a miscarriage (based on the dating from the ultrasound, before fetal demise), and from charting that I was doing. But, luteal phase defects are still theoretical with doctors on either side of whether or not it is an issue in pregnancy, and my doctor is one of the skeptical ones. There is one scientific study that showed that women who’d experienced previous miscarriages had lower miscarriage rates when using progesterone therapy in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. I haven’t read anything about using it later in pregnancy, but I’d trust your doctor on that unless you have some research that shows otherwise. I wanted to try to use progesterone cream to regulate my cycle (I had several signs of estrogen dominance) and help me get pregnant, and I did it without telling my doctor because I knew she didn’t really think there was an issue (I’d read of other women doing it without telling their dr.). When I found out I was pregnant, I did come clean and tell her that I’d been using it, and was wondering if I could keep using it. She said to go ahead and keep using it, it couldn’t hurt anything. She didn’t want to test my progesterone level because she felt there’s a large range of normal (I still don’t know why not, seeing as there’s still a range, and one could be under it, although it may’ve been skewed by my use of the cream). It’s hard to argue with a doctor over things you’ve read on the internet, that they’ve probably also read and already dismissed as not having enough evidence to be worth considering.

I wouldn’t worry about using it. Progesterone seems a harmless enough hormone to supplement, and your doctor will be monitoring your levels. The progesterone may make you sleepy, but I haven’t noticed anything else. I do know that once you’re on it, you need to stay on it steadily and wean off of it, because withdrawal can cause miscarriage. I feel fine about the cream because it's plant derived (yam), and that's supposed to mimic what we naturally produce. You can try looking the difference between natural and synthetic up on the internet and talk with your doctor about it if you're more comfortable with the natural. If you use cream, be careful of the ingredients. Some essential oils are contraindicated in pregnancy. I get the plain Emerita stuff, and Vitamin Shoppe has the best price online (pretty cheap, actually, and I ask the store to match the online price).

Best wishes for a happy, healthy pregnancy soon and baby!

I have also miscarried twice and did take prometrium during my current pregnancy. I only took it from about week 6 until 12 and then was able to stop. The only side effect for me was that I had to get up to pee once each night. After I stopped taking it, I didn't have to get up to pee anymore! :) I'm now about 26 weeks and have a healthy pregnancy. I too was worried about the effects of hormones on my developing baby but after talking with my doctor a lot, decided that this was the right choice for us. I have a 22 month old that was born a week early and continues to breastfeed and we've seen no effect of the prometrium on her.

My 1st baby was six weeks early, born at 34 weeks and spent three weeks in ICU, so with my second the Dr recommended weekly progesterone shots to prevent premature birth. I went into pre-term labor at 31 weeks and was on bed rest for over a month and our 2nd baby was born at 36 weeks. I don't know for sure if the progesterone helped delay my labor, but I felt it was worth trying. The only side effect I had was some itching at the injection site. Our beautiful little girl is now four months old and prefectly healthy.
I am sorry about the miscarriages, I wish you the best.

I feel like this post was written directly to me. My first pregnancy was complication free and resulted in an awesome 10 lb 4 oz baby boy. I know what you're thinking, I probably had gestational diabetes. Nope, just birth them big. Don't know how my 140 lb 5'6" frame does it, but yup. Got pregnant again when my son was 18 months old. I didn't even think of the possibility of miscarriage because my son was conceived the very first time we tried and the pregnancy was flawless. But, we lost that baby at 7 weeks. Got pregnant again 3 months later and lost that one as well. I feel your pain. I know how terrible it can be. Not to mention that our doctor told us that they can't run tests to find out why it happened and they don't consider it "a problem" until you miscarry a 3rd time.

I was not going to wait around until it happened again. I could not go through that pain again. I did tons of research and came up with 2 ideas on my own. I started taking baby aspirin in case I had some random blood clotting thing that just happened to not show up with my first pregnancy. I also asked the doctor if I could get an RX for progesterone to take as soon as I found out I was pregnant next.

She thought it was a great idea and had me take it the entire first trimester in case that was the problem. I did some research and found that if a shortage of progesterone wasn't the problem, the excess would not hurt the baby... It can cause your morning sickness to be more intense, but for me, it was totally worth it. 1 cycles after my 2nd miscarriage I was pregnant and started taking progesterone immediately. I was induced early with my daughter at 38 weeks (due to my large first baby) and she was a super healthy 9 lbs 4 ozs. She's going to be one in 2 weeks and I am so grateful for her.

We'll never know if the progesterone was what needed to be done to keep my baby growing, but I do know that she is here and she is healthy.

I know it doesn't help right now, but you can and will get through this. I can only now look back and realize that if it weren't for those 2 miscarriages I wouldn't have my sweet baby girl. I completely understand your frustrations and pray that your next pregnancy ends in a beautiful baby.

If your doctor is recommending it, then it has been done. I had the progesterone shots in my rear/hip and had a wonderful pregnancy and a very healthy boy. (that was afer I had had a miscarriage). He's now 6'2" and super strong! Yes, that was 18 years ago now. Absolutely NO side effects for either of us. Don't worry, it's fine. Think of it as insurance for your baby. :) By the way,I had no shots with the last 4 of my kids and was fine.

I had low prosterone with both my pregnancies and had to take progetrone supplements during the first trimesters. I did the vaginal suppositores and other than being a little slimy there were no side effects :-) With my first daughter it actually stopped me from miscarrying when I had already started spotting and my hormone levels were dropping.

J.,

I sent you a private message on my personal experience!

I have trouble carrying to full term. What a specialist had me do the 4th time was cerclage after 10 weeks, bedrest at a point and time released nifedipine. I was able to carry my daughter within 3 1/2 weeks of her due date! Of course, there were trips to the hospital and such... Good luck to you.

I took an oral progesterone supplement for the first 12 weeks with both of my pregnancies (I am currently 29 wks with the second). We tested my progesterone levels right away with both pregnancies because I was being treated for IF. Both times it was pretty low but with the help of the supplements the numbers bounced right back. My daughter was born healthy and happy and baby #2 seems to be doing well too!

As far as side effects go it can vary. I haven't tried the vaginal kind but hear that it can be pretty messy. The oral kind increased my nausea (but not enough to cause vomiting in my case). And I had some mild dizziness along with it. Nothing I couldn't handle. With that being said, side affects vary in nature and severity. I hope that progesterone supplements do the trick for you!

After my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, my doctor put me on progesterone as soon as my tests came back positive. I have two beautiful and healthy girls now.

Hi there! I totally understand your concerns. I had a miscarriage as well. I was recommended to use the natural progesterone cream for the first 14 weeks by a Hormone therapy doctor. I think I was having implantation issue's. The progesterone cream made me a bit moody, but it was worth it to have a healthy baby! Good luck!

J.,
I personally dont have experience with the progesterone therapy, but my sister in law is having it done right now. She is 32 and her daughter was born 2 months early. I think she started it about 20 weeks (not for sure). The only thing she has complained about is being sore where they inject it. She did have a heck of a time finding a pharmacy and insurance that would cover it though.
She is still taking them I think and is due at the end of June. So I am not sure about any other effects right now. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. I would just say ask lots of questions and do your own research on it.

Good luck.

Hi J.... I'm very sorry about your miscarriages. I had one with my first pregnancy and I know how devastating it can be.

I did use progesterone starting after ovulation with my (now nearly 2 year old, very healthy and happy) son. My naturopath recommended it (especially after my test showed low levels) - the way she explained it, the progesterone helps make your uterus a welcoming environment for a baby by helping the uterine lining. I stayed on progesterone through my first trimester, then gradually weaned off.

Best of luck!

Progesterone is not a drug, but a hormone - one that you appear to be lacking. It's like taking thyroid medication - also a hormone that is lacking... Anyway, I took progesterone for the first 10 weeks for both of my pregnancies and was absolutely fine. I have one healthy two-year-old and two healthy twins on the way... I can't think of any side-effects, though someone else who took progesterone said her doctor told her it might make her feel nauseous. I had bad nausea with both pregnancies, but not sure if it was the progesterone or not as both times it continued well past the 10-week mark when I gave up progesterone. I've taken progesterone before when I wasn't pregnant to lengthen my luteal phases and I found that it gave me more energy and lessened my mentrual cramps...