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Chapter 29 - Progesterone Use in Early Pregnancy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2025

By
Hoda M Harb  and
Arri Coomarasamy
Edited by
Roy G. Farquharson ,
Mary D. Stephenson  and
Mariëtte Goddijn
Roy G. Farquharson
Affiliation:
Liverpool Women’s Hospital
Mary D. Stephenson
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Mariëtte Goddijn
Affiliation:
Amsterdam University Medical Centers
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Summary

Progesterone is an endogenous hormone which is derived from cholesterol steroids. It is secreted in women principally by the corpus luteum in the ovaries during normal menstrual cycles. Progesterone exerts a number of essential effects vital for the support and maintenance of a pregnancy. The role of progesterone in threatened and recurrent miscarriage was a matter of debate for many decades, until the findings of the PROMISE and PRISM trials. Vaginal micronized progesterone may increase the live birth rate for women with a history of one or more previous miscarriages and early pregnancy bleeding, with likely no difference in adverse events. There remains an uncertainty over the effectiveness and safety of alternative progestogen treatments for threatened and recurrent miscarriage.

Keywords

Progesteroneprogestogenearly pregnancymiscarriagepregnancy loss

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Type
Chapter
Information
Early Pregnancy , pp. 317 - 323
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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