Article Medically Reviewed By:
Steven R. Goldstein, MD
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY
Overview
What Is It?
Progesterone is a hormone that stimulates and regulates important functions, playing a role in maintaining pregnancy, preparing the body for conception and regulating the monthly menstrual cycle. Progesterone is one of the hormones in our bodies that stimulates and regulates various functions. Progesterone plays a role in maintaining pregnancy. The hormone is produced in the ovaries, the placenta (when a woman gets pregnant) and the adrenal glands. It helps prepare your body for conception and pregnancy and regulates the monthly menstrual cycle. It also plays a role in sexual desire.
During the reproductive years, the pituitary gland in the brain generates hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone [FSH] and luteinizing hormone [LH]) that cause a new egg to mature and be released from its ovarian follicle each month. As the follicle develops, it produces the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, which thicken the lining of the uterus. Progesterone levels rise in the second half of the menstrual cycle, and following the release of the egg (ovulation), the ovarian tissue that replaces the follicle (the corpus luteum) continues to produce estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is the hormone that stimulates growth of the uterine lining (endometrium), causing it to thicken during the pre-ovulatory phase of the cycle.
The Role of Progesterone in Women
One of progesterone's most important functions is to cause the endometrium to secrete special proteins during the second half of the menstrual cycle, preparing it to receive and nourish an implanted fertilized egg. If implantation does not occur, estrogen and progesterone levels drop, the endometrium breaks down and menstruation occurs.
If a pregnancy occurs, progesterone is produced in the placenta, and levels remain elevated throughout the pregnancy. The combination of high estrogen and progesterone levels suppress further ovulation during pregnancy. Progesterone also encourages the growth of milk-producing glands in the breast during pregnancy.
High progesterone levels are believed to be partly responsible for symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), such as breast tenderness, feeling bloated and mood swings. When you skip a period, it could be because of failure to ovulate and subsequent low progesterone levels.
Progestogen Treatments
The word "progestogen" refers to any hormone product that affects the uterus in much the same way as our natural progesterone. Effective synthetic versions of progesterone, called progestins, have been around since the 1950s. A micronized capsule version of natural progesterone (derived from wild yams) was developed more recently.
Progestogens are included along with estrogen in combination oral contraceptives and in menopausal hormone therapy. Progestins are also used...
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