POSTPARTUM AND PROGESTERONE
“Many women experience depression in the days (and weeks) following childbirth.Other symptoms include headache, irritability, and sleeplessness. The depression can be incapacitating and prolonged. Research by Brian Harris and colleagues in Wales found that,among 120 women, those with the highest prenatal and lowest postnatal progesterone levels also scored highest on measures of postpartum depression scores.
Recall that as pregnancy advances, placental production of progesterone rises to levels of 350-400mg. a day, and the ovaries’ contribution at that point is nil. With delivery,the placenta-derived progesterone is suddenly gone. The only source of progesterone at that time would be the adrenal glands. It is possible that adrenal exhaustion plays a role in a woman’s inability to provide even a modicum of progesterone in the days following childbirth. Postpartum depression is notoriously difficult to treat. It would seem appropriate to measure progesterone levels a day or two after childbirth and, if found to be low, progesterone could be promptly supplemented. It is possible that this simple and safe therapy could make postpartum depression much easier to treat. ”
“Many of my patients have volunteered that the first benefit they perceived from using natural progesterone was an improved sleep pattern. After years of unsettled sleep they now look forward to retiring each night because they know they will enjoy sound sleep and awake refreshed in the morning. This is one of the reasons I tend to recommend that progesterone cream be applied at bedtime.”
These quotes are from Dr. John Lee’s book called, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause.
Read about Natural Progesterone Cream and Post Partum
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