Pregnant and doc wants me to get progesterone injections....

[goofy!]

This is my third pregnancy. My second child I had at 31 weeks. It is a VERY long story, but to keep it short I was put into labor my a nurse. Like I said, LONG story, so I won't get into that.

Anyway, my current OB wants me to start progesterone injections every week starting at week 18. I am currently in week 12. So, I have a little time. I don't feel like I need it because of the way I went into labor. I was dialated to 10 and my daughter was still transverse (horizontal) way up in my belly.

If you have had experience with this, please tell me your opinion. pros and cons please. I may end up making my doctor mad when I tell her I refuse the shots. I have heard they are painful and can cause weight gain. NOT reasons for me to refuse the injections BTW. I would like to know your experiences.
Thanks a bunch.

I had 4 miscarriages between my 2nd and 3rd child. With the 5th try, I had progesterone shots every other day from the day of my missed period up through 20 weeks. I also gave myself 2x a day heparin shots. I never did have any side effects at all. In fact, with this pregnancy, I gained the least weight of the 3.

I had a healthy baby that is now 14 years old.

 

[LovableGluttons]

I want to say thank you for the input on the subject. I will let the doctor test me to see if I have a progesterone deficiency. I will go from there if I actually need it or not. If I don't have a deficiancy, I don't see a point to getting the progestrone. Does that make sense or is there another reason to get the injections even if there is no deficiency?

Until the placenta is developed enough to maintain the pregnancy, the hormone support is coming from your body (ie why we have morning sickness). Without going into too much depth, the suppression of some functions of your body during pregnancy come from hormones like progesterone. Without this, you body doesn't know that the pregnancy needs to continue and will try to assume it's normal state of nonpregnancy.

Adequate progesterone levels are vital to maintain a pregnancy until viability. Its not something foreign to the body at all. Even if you had labs drawn that showed a normal level for you doesn't mean its enough for your pregnancy to continue to term.

I'm in no way directing you in your decision. I push MY patients to be their own advocates first and ask questions until you have your information straight. Vilifying the nurse who performed you pelvic exam during your last pregnancy may be getting in the way of making healthy decisions about this one.

I hope you have good family support during this time in your life.