Chapter 54: Assessing Progesterone During Pregnancy

Hilgers TW

Reproductive Endocrinology Ovarian Hormones

Chapter 54: Assessing Progesterone During Pregnancy

Hilgers TW

The Medical and Surgical Practice of NaProTECHNOLOGY, 713-724, 2004

RRM Academy Synopsis

Progesterone ran lower in pregnancies with miscarriage or problems

Among 830 pregnancies in 610 mostly infertility patients, pregnancies with miscarriage or problems showed lower progesterone than healthy ones. Everyone was getting progesterone shots. Blood was tested every two weeks. The author suggests the more significant low period comes after the first trimester.

Key Findings

The data cover 610 patients, 830 pregnancies and 8,545 progesterone levels from 1980 to 2001, mostly infertility patients receiving progesterone injections.
The comparison group pooled 55 first pregnancies and 54 later pregnancies with no complications. Their levels did not differ significantly except at 16 weeks.
Pregnancies ending in first-trimester (75) or second-trimester (12) spontaneous abortion had significantly lower progesterone levels than the comparison group.
Abnormal placenta (63 pregnancies) and threatened prematurity (226) groups were significantly lower at each of the last four six-week intervals. The fetal distress group (44) was lower at the last three.
A history of polycystic ovarian disease (26 pregnancies) went with significantly lower levels in all three trimesters. Twin pregnancies had significantly higher levels in all three.

RRM Context

Progesterone monitoring in pregnancy belongs to NaProTechnology, and this chapter comes from that method's textbook. Most patients charted with the Creighton Model FertilityCare System. Its Peak Day estimate dated their pregnancies. Restorative reproductive medicine looks for the cause behind early loss, and low progesterone is one finding to trace.

Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.

Abstract

This chapter reports serum progesterone levels measured during pregnancy in 610 patients through 830 pregnancies, most of them infertility patients receiving intramuscular progesterone supplementation. Levels from uncomplicated full-term pregnancies were pooled to form a normal curve, and the chapter compares that curve with groups defined by previous reproductive history and by complications of the current pregnancy. Hilgers reports significantly lower progesterone levels in the later stages of pregnancy in the abnormal placenta, threatened prematurity and fetal distress groups. The chapter concludes that the more significant progesterone-deficient period falls after the first trimester and suggests that progesterone may be more significant as an indication of placental function than previously appreciated.

Topics

Reproductive Endocrinology › Ovarian Hormones › Progesterone · Pregnancy › Early Pregnancy › Progesterone Support · Diagnostics › Hormone Testing › Timing of Testing

Thomas W Hilgers

Tom Hilgers, T Hilgers

Hilgers et al. 2004, Hilgers 2004

Chapter 54: Assessing Progesterone During Pregnancy

Progesterone ran lower in pregnancies with miscarriage or problems

Key Findings

RRM Context

Abstract

Topics

By this author

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