Progesterone is a hormone that intervenes in pregnancy.
Progesterone is the most important progestin among those that humans produce naturally. Progestogens , meanwhile, are the hormones that participate in the pregnancy process.
The term progesterone is a neologism formed from the sum of two Latin components, such as the prefix pro- (which can be translated as "forward" ) and the verb gestare (which is equivalent to "to be pregnant" ).
Progesterone function
This steroid hormone, composed of four cyclic hydrocarbons that are interrelated with each other and other components, participates in pregnancy , embryogenesis and menstruation . Progesterone is produced in the placenta , ovaries, liver and adrenal glands.
Progesterone can also be classified as a sexual hormone. It begins to occur after puberty in women , promoting maturational development through its action during the menstrual cycle. Progesterone, in fact, is key to the development of pregnancy.
Your supply
During the pregnancy period , there are many women who see how their gynecologists decide to prescribe progesterone. They do it because they consider it necessary to be able to deal with certain situations that occur, such as if there is a risk of an abortion occurring naturally.
However, there are other cases in which a woman, without being pregnant, also has to accept the prescription for that substance. Specifically, it is usual for the doctor to prescribe it when you are going to undergo an in vitro fertilization process and it is therefore necessary that the uterus be in the best conditions to receive the arrival of the baby.
Likewise, we must not forget that women who have irregular bleeding during menstruation should also take the measure of opting for progesterone to put an end to this abnormality. In these cases, it also helps to relieve certain common symptoms of this monthly stage such as back pain, abdominal distension, tiredness, sudden mood changes or fatigue.
Measuring progesterone in the blood helps diagnose various diseases.
Presentation of progesterone
Progesterone can come in various forms: as oral tablets, as a vaginal gel, as a suppository, or as injections.
When progesterone is ingested through pills for any purpose, it can cause adverse effects such as headache, kidney problems, cramps, fluid retention, and thrombotic-type diseases .
Normal values
Normal blood progesterone values vary according to different factors. In men and women before ovulation and after menopause, it is below one nanogram per milliliter. In the middle of their cycle, women show a blood progesterone level of between five and twenty nanograms per milliliter. Lastly, during pregnancy, the amount of progesterone varies between eleven and ninety nanograms per milliliter depending on the stage.
A measurement of the progesterone level, therefore, can help diagnose pregnancy, ovulation problems, congenital adrenal hyperplasia or various types of cancer .