What's Progesterone?

Q.Please doctor, what's hormone progesterone and what could cause it to be low?

A.Progesterone is a hormone --a special chemical messenger produced from very special factories--or glands-- in the human body whose job is to help a woman get pregnant and keep the pregnancy till delivery. (You see, just like testosterone makes and keeps a man a man and estrogen makes and keeps a woman a woman, progesterone makes a pregnant woman to get and keep her pregnancy). When progesterone levels are low, a woman miscarries or has a tendency to do so; which tendency shows up by such signs as bleeding during pregnancy either at the set time of periods or outside such times.This is the reason a woman may be pregnant and still be bleeding as if she is not. Again low progesterone can cause early miscarriages that oftentimes, the patient or the doctor erroneously refers to as "delayed menses". The key is to discern that such bleeding is, in a small or big way, different from the woman's normal menses. We do not know why progesterone may be low, but the good news is, low progesterone can be detected and what is more, successfully treated.
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