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Infertility, Pregnancy and Natural Progesterone
The protocol should not be used without the benefit of knowing your hormone levels. There can
be other hormone imbalances (testosterone and cortisol, for example) that will affect your
outcome.
Conventional approaches to infertility are invasive, clumsy and expensive. So, what are some
possible causes of an inability to become pregnant or sustain a pregnancy?
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Mechanical (blocked tubes);
Hormone imbalance;
Ovarian failure following an extensive period on contraception;
Lack of regular ovulation due to stress and/or hormone imbalance;
Nutritional deficiencies and/or toxicity.
If you are sure that that there is no mechanical reason for you not to become pregnant then the
potential for a hormone balancing approach to succeed is significant.
Conventional approaches may use progesterone supplementation but only with an estimated (less
than) 30% success rate. This happens because drug level doses are used in order to see the levels
of progesterone climb in the blood serum. However, what most doctors do not realise is that 90%
of bio-available progesterone is carried by red blood cells, not in the serum.
Physiological (or normal body levels) of natural progesterone supplied through the skin really can
assist in providing an appropriate environment for ovulation, conception, implantation and
successful pregnancy.
Dr Jerome Check and Harriet Adelson have researched this extensively1,2 and they found that an
adequate amount of progesterone is essential for a woman to become pregnant. It will prepare
the uterine wall for implantation as without this preparation the conceptus will be lost in the
next period. One study they ran looked at 50 women who had been trying to conceive for a
minimum of 18 months. Their average age was 31 (18 - 39 years). Seventy per cent of these
women conceived within six months.3
John Lee’s recommended approach is to use 1/8 tsp twice per day to support progesterone
levels.4 (NB The amount quoted here is relevant to the product recommended.)
It may also be appropriate to suppress ovulation for 3 months to improve the chances of
conceiving. This option would be considered as part of any hormone evaluation and on going
program. To improve chances of fertility start using the progesterone on day 8 to day 26 of the
cycle for 3 cycles. Then on the fourth cycle use from day 12 to 26. Chances of conception
should be enhanced in the fourth cycle and the use of natural progesterone will support the
environment for a successful implantation.
Once a pregnancy is confirmed the progesterone supplementation can be continued to support
the pregnancy through the delicate time of the first month. Following the first month the dose
can be increased to 1/8 tsp x 3 times per day and subsequently to 4 times per day for the
remainder of the first trimester.5
After the first trimester the placenta should be making enough progesterone but if desired the
80mg can be continued until a month before birth when the dose should be decreased and
stopped a week before birth. This will stimulate the hormone prolactin, which stimulates milk
production and the baby will stimulate its own delivery through cortisol excretion in its urine.
(Cortisol is known to reduce progesterone’s effects.)6 This information service is not intended to make any claims or provide medical advice.
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Infertility, Pregnancy and Natural Progesterone
(continued)
NB. The British Journal of Psychiatry reported the clinical observations of ninety children
whose mothers used natural progesterone showed that:
• More were standing and walking at one year;
• At the age of 9-10 years the children were getting significantly better grades at
school (than controls) in their academic subjects, verbal reasoning and craftwork
(but only average in PE).7
Dr Dalton the author of this study and others, is not alone in her findings that natural
progesterone can:
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Protect the foetus from miscarriage;
Increase maternal feelings of well being;
Increase the IQ potential of the child;
Produces calmer, less colicky babies.8
An additional point to note is that natural progesterone is not the same as synthetic progestins
prescribed in the Pill or HRT. The use of these patented drugs when a woman is trying to
conceive or is nursing carries warnings of:
• Increased risk of birth defects such as heart and limb. (If taken during the first
four months of pregnancy);
• The drug passing into breast milk.
Using natural progesterone transdermally - Use on thin skinned areas: face and neck, upper
chest, inside of the arms from the wrist to the arm pit and inside of thighs to backs of knees.
Rotate each time of use to avoid saturating an area through over application.
Description of Elan Organic Progesterone Cream
Elan Organic is a human identical progesterone cream - it is not the same as its synthetic cousin
found in the Pill or HRT. This progesterone cream contains USP natural progesterone (not
Chinese progesterone) and is an all-natural product - no parabens, no alcohol, no petrochemicals, no animal derivatives, no artificial colours. It is hypoallergenic and cruelty free.
What is natural progesterone?
Progesterone (referenced as USP progesterone) refers to a single molecular structure that is
identical to the progesterone molecule that the body makes – it is commonly referred to as
“natural” progesterone because of this.
References:
1. Check, J & Adelson, G. “The Efficacy of Progesterone in Achieving Successful
Pregnancy: II in women with pure luteal phase
defects.” International Fertility, 1987.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Lee, J. Natural Progesterone. The Multiple Roles of a Remarkable Hormone. Jon
Carpenter, 1993, 1999.
5. Ibid.
6. Lee, J. The John R Lee MD Medical Letter, Sept 1998.
7. Dalton, K. “Ante-natal Progesterone & Intelligence.” British Journal of Psychiatry,
1968.
8. Dalton, Once a Month, Hunter House, 1999.
9. Lee, J. Natural Progesterone. The Multiple Roles of a Remarkable Hormone. Jon
Carpenter, 1993, 1999.
Last updated: September 2015
This information service is not intended to make any claims or provide medical advice.