Progesterone has been prescribed as a supplement to women who suffered from recurrent miscarriages. Progesterone is a sex hormone that is absolutely essential for maintaining pregnancy, but as it turns out, taking progesterone supplements during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy probably does not benefit women hoping to see their pregnancies finally make it to term.
A recent trial revealed that taking progesterone during the first trimester actually did not help expectant mothers avoid an additional loss. The research was led by scientists at the University of Birmingham, and it was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research for the PROMISE (progesterone in miscarriage treatment) trial was conducted within 45 hospitals in the Netherlands and the UK and disrupts nearly six decades of suspicion that progesterone supplementation might be an effective way to prevent miscarriage among women who have suffered unexplained, recurrent miscarriage.
Original Article: A Randomized Trial of Progesterone in Women with Recurrent Miscarriages. https://t.co/33CG1FFq6k http://pic.twitter.com/yAvcUZUfhS
— NEJM (@NEJM) November 26, 2015
The trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that examined data from 826 women who had multiple unexplained recurrent miscarriage.
“A total of 1568 women were assessed for eligibility, and 836 of these women who conceived naturally within 1 year and remained willing to participate in the trial were randomly assigned to receive either progesterone (404 women) or placebo (432 women).”
The women in the test group were given twice-daily vaginal suppositories of progesterone. Women in the control group were given twice-daily vaginal suppositories of a placebo. Unfortunately, the trial revealed that progesterone does little to reduce the likelihood of pregnancy loss.
“Progesterone therapy in the first trimester of pregnancy did not result in a significantly higher rate of live births among women with a history of unexplained recurrent miscarriages.”
Medical history, age, pregnancy history and ethnicity did not change the outcome. There was no significant difference between the test group and the control group.
“…disappointment whenever you find out that a magic bullet isn’t a magic bullet.” Progesterone for miscarriages https://t.co/VZD7GOd9hS
— Alice Dreger (@AliceDreger) November 26, 2015
Lead author Prof. Arri Coomarasamy called the results disappointing, but stayed positive. Knowing whether a treatment is a wash and settling a decades long puzzle will allow researchers to explore other treatments to reduce unexplained miscarriage.
“We had hoped, like many people, that this research would confirm progesterone as an effective treatment. Though disappointing, it does address a question that has remained unanswered since progesterone was first proposed as a treatment back in 1953. Fortunately, there are a number of other positives that we can take from the trial as a whole.
“Furthermore, the PROMISE trial created a solid network of doctors, nurses and midwives across the UK and beyond, all committed to miscarriage research. That wealth of expertise and information will be invaluable as we continue to explore and test other treatments that really can reduce the risk of miscarriage.”
Progesterone did not negatively affect the pregnancies, reassuring women taking progesterone for other reasons.
Everything looked perfect! Transfer is set for this Sunday! Progesterone injections start tonight! #FET #injections http://pic.twitter.com/9eHDfzuco3
— Derek And Liza (@DerekandLiza) November 23, 2015
According to Prof. Coomarasamy, progesterone supplements probably do have other benefits such as preventing miscarriage in women with early pregnancy bleeding.
Persisting low mood may be due to relative progesterone deficiency, and supplementation can have remarkable benefits https://t.co/VwE8JGU980
— Dr David Eccleston (@DavidEccleston) November 19, 2015
The study was funded by the United Kingdom National Institute of Health Research.
Medical News Today reported that in the United States, one-fifth of people surveyed believed lifestyle choices were the primary causes of miscarriage, but in reality most miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities.
Inquisitr wants to hear from you! Were you ever prescribed progesterone supplementation to try to prevent unexplained miscarriage?
[Image via Pixabay]
Once A Go-To Treatment, Progesterone Found To Provide No Benefit Against Recurrent Miscarriages is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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