I took progesterone during and in preparation for both my successful pregnancies. It was hard to get prescribed, and often dismissed by doctors as ineffective. So I was really pleased to see that the PRISM research trial in partnership with Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research has finally provided clear evidence as to the benefits for some women.
The research has shown that progesterone could increase live births in women with early pregnancy bleeding and a history of miscarriage. While it did not show statistically strong enough evidence to suggest that progesterone could help all women who are suffering early pregnancy bleeding to go on to have a baby, importantly the results did show the hormone benefited those who had early pregnancy bleeding and had previously suffered a miscarriage. There was a small reduction in miscarriage for those with 1-2 previous miscarriages and a big reduction in miscarriage for those with 3 or more previous miscarriages.
The PRISM trial is the largest ever trial of its kind and involved 4,153 pregnant women who presented with early pregnancy bleeding. The women were randomly assigned by computer into one of two groups – 2,079 women were given progesterone while 2,074 women were given a placebo.
Arri Coomarasamy, Professor of Gynaecology at the University of Birmingham and Director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, said: “The role of progesterone in women with early pregnancy bleeding has been studied and debated for about 60 years, however what we have previously lacked is high quality evidence…“We hope that this evidence will be considered by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and that it will be used to update national guidelines for women at risk of miscarriage.”
Tommy’s are now urging women with early pregnancy bleeding and who have suffered one or more previous miscarriages to request progesterone treatment.
This can be easier said that done, and convincing sceptical medical professionals who are not up to speed on new research is tough, particularly at such a difficult time. The charity has developed a simple infographic that you can bring with you to the doctor that clearly explains the benefits of the treatment.
To find out more, visit the Tommy’s website.
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
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Wow, thanks for sharing! I suffered bleeding during my third pregnancy (after two miscarriages) but could not get progesterone prescribed. I actually ended up sourcing a progesterone cream online and used that. I figured it probably wasn’t doing anything, but it helped me mentally to do something. But hey, maybe it actually helped and is the reason I have my three year old today…?
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I took progesterone after two miscarriages before I got pregnant again and had my first son. I then had another miscarriage and had been on progesterone then too. But I did have low progesterone levels and this did need to be treated as part of the process so it all helped. I ended up having my second son after taking part in the SiM trial where I had the lining of my womb scratched to try and encourage stem cell growth to help with implantation so it all goes together as part of the overall picture. It’s frustrating that in most areas it seems so difficult to get progesterone prescribed so hopefully this will now help!
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