What Do Low Progesterone Levels During Pregnancy Indicate?

Posted on Sat, 19 Nov 2016

Question: Hi I just had a miscarriage at 5 weeks 6 days after ttc for 14 months. While I was miscarrying they of course checked my labs, ( I am changing mds because I really feel like they didn't take my concerns with spotting before the miscarriage seriously and told me I started spotting because I had sex 3 days prior to the start of spotting....anywho)...the first time I could get them to check my labs (they said because I wasn't cramping) was 3 days into the spotting and my HCG had was 30 and my progesterone was 0.6...I can not get anyone to straight talk me about the progesterone level which I know is SUPER low considering I was pregnant....however should I be concerned that I have chronically low progesterone and when should I test for that? and How can I fix it?

Answered by Dr. Ramadevi Wani (59 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Low progesterone suggests that the pregnancy is not healthy.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to Healthcare magic.
I appreciate your concerns. I am sorry to hear about your miscarriage.

In a normal growing healthy pregnancy the progesterone level is >5ng/ml. Since the progesterone was low in your case, it suggests that the pregnancy was not healthy.

Can you please clarify what do you mean by saying you have chronically low progesterone? Do you have ovulation problem? If so it can be fixed with ovulation inducing medicines. Don't worry.

I hope this is helpful.
If you have further concerns, I will be happy to answer.

Best wishes,
Dr Rama

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Ramadevi Wani (1 hour later)

I was wondering if I should be concerned that I could have chronically low progesterone that could have caused this...no ovulation problems that I am aware of....

Answered by Dr. Ramadevi Wani (15 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Details below

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome back.

Low progesterone that was found in your case was because the pregnancy was not healthy. This does not mean that you have chronically low progesterone.

If you have regular menstrual cycles of 28-30 days, it is unlikely that you have low progesterone levels.

Best wishes,
Dr Rama

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad