Pregnancy and Progesterone

Pregnancy and Progesterone

Published November 24, 2010

I am often asked the question about the use of progesterone cream during pregnancy. I don’t like to make these recommendations but I do like to refer people to the books by Dr. Katharina Dalton MD.  The placenta is usually fully formed by the fourth month of pregnancy and will produce massive amounts of progesterone,  about 40 times the normal progesterone levels found at the peak of the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.

“In the early days of pregnancy, a woman may experience nausea and vomiting, often called ‘morning sickness’….This is a sign that the ovarian progesterone is insufficient and the placenta is not yet secreting enough progesterone, so progesterone may be given to ease the symptoms.”

Dr. Dalton goes on to explain the long term benefits for the babies of these pregnant women who use progesterone during pregnancy.  There was a 20 year study done that started in 1959 at the City of London Maternity Hospital.

“The study showed that at the age of one, the progesterone children stood and walked earlier, but there was no difference in talking or teething; at nine to ten years, the progesterone children were noted to be above average in academic subjects — English, verbal reasoning, and arithmetic — but not in craft work or phyical eduction. The progesterone children did better in school, graduating at sixteen adn eighteen years and finally, 32 percent went on to college, compared to only 6 percent of the controls (6 percent was also the national British and London average).  The children who received progesterone early — before the sixteenth week of pregnancy — were those who benefited most.”

Today it is much more common to use topical progesterone cream as an efficient and safe method for absorbing progesterone into our system.  If you decide to use progesterone during pregnancy make sure that the cream is pure with no herbs that are meant for menopause such as black cohosh, clover etc.  These herbs can be harmful to pregnancy.

I just discovered that you can read this book for free by searching for it on Google Books.  Search for Once a Month by Katharina Dalton MD. I highly recommend that you read her books if you are thinking about getting pregnant or if you are pregnant and have some concerns.

IF YOU ARE PREGNANT PLEASE DISCUSS THESE ISSUES AND YOUR RESEARCH WITH YOUR DOCTOR.