Progesterone Is Vital To Women’s Health

If you’ve been reading regularly on women’s health or pregnancy related stuff, then you are sure to have heard about the hormone ‘progesterone’. This hormone is crucial to a woman’s health, and apparently this is vital to conceiving and having a normal pregnancy. 

Progesterone plays a significant role in the regular menstrual cycle of woman and during pregnancy; however, this does not mean that this hormone is important only for pregnancy. There are lots of other women’s health aspects, where progesterone plays an important role.

Progesterone is naturally produced in a woman’s body, and the two most prominent glands which contribute to the production of this hormone are the gonads and the adrenal glands.  The levels of this hormone keep changing with a woman’s menstrual cycle, and the levels are usually at the peak when one cycle gets over and the new cycle begins.

During the course of pregnancy, progesterone levels are constantly high after the initial eight weeks and these escalated levels help the woman’s body to easily adapt to the changes, making the body better equipped to progress with a healthy pregnancy.

In some women the natural production of progesterone within the body is a little low, and unless these women are given progesterone supplements, it may be difficult for them not just to carry on with a healthy pregnancy, but even to conceive in the first place.

Sometimes, even during fertility treatments, progesterone supplements may be administered to increase the probability of conception and these supplements may continue even through the pregnancy to avoid miscarriage and other pregnancy related problems. Even post childbirth, this hormone is needed to ensure the proper production of milk in the breasts.

During menopause a woman’s body experiences a dip in the progesterone and this makes their bodies susceptible to physical as well as mental degeneration. A dip in its level has a deep impact on the mood as well, besides causing physical problems.

Remember that if you are finding it hard to conceive or have experienced any miscarriages then you must speak to your health care provider about getting progesterone testing done.