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Last Updated:
Jan 3rd, 2010 - 00:09:53
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Question
My husband and I have three beautiful children (ages 6, 5, and 3 1/2) who were conceived at the first or second try and carried to term without any problem. After my third baby was born (I was 37) I noticed that my periods came back following an unusual pattern: they were spaced as they had always been (23-25 days, with ovulation around day 11), but my menstrual flow would start with a very light spotting, move on to a very heavy flow on day 4 or 5, for about 24 hours, and end two days later. I also started having very strong PMS symptoms, which I never had before (I get angry very easily one or two days before my periods start). Since this pattern was very regular, I decided to ignore it.
I am now 40 and in October, after 5 months of trying, I conceived again. A couple of days ago, we were devastated to hear that our baby had stopped growing and died after 5 1/2 weeks of gestation.
I opted to go through the miscarriage process at home. While I try to wrap my mind around this horrible loss, I am looking for information, maybe in the vain hope that I can prevent this from happening again. I have learned that all I have described above might be due to low progesterone levels. Is this a possibility? What should I look for when I chart my cycles? Is it considered ethical to take progesterone supplements at my age to try to have another baby, or would a better formed conscience accept the end of childbearing years?
Thank you for this wonderful service.
Simona
Answer
Dear Simona,
I share the pain in the lose of your child and hope that this information you will be helpful to you.
Because of your age you can experience spotting, shorter cycles, variable phase length, fewer ovulations, pre menopause symptoms (that are similar to PMS symptoms) and changes in your hormone levels. The changing cycle events are indicative of the the naturally changing hormone levels which are observable as you approach menopause and will be evident to you as you chart the events of your cycle. Because you would like to have another child the necessity of knowing when your body is ready to conceive and can support a pregnancy is very important.
Understanding your fertile cycle is knowledge available to every woman and choosing to make use of this knowledge, even in the pre menopause years is your privilege and right.
A woman's body is designed to gradually decline in fertility approximately between the ages of 40 and 50 and conception is always possible.
Supplementing natural progesterone to enhance your own production before and during a pregnancy is similar in some sense to using multi-vitamins or herbs to enrich your body's health, but hormone supplementation must be done at the proper time in the cycle. Progesterone levels are checked first by drawing blood during the time your body is producing this hormone. Your chart becomes an invaluable tool to the doctor for knowing when to do this.
My best advice would be to contact a Creighton trained NFP teacher for charting review who in turn can recommend a doctor who understands the principles of NaProTechnology. Check this site for names and Links.
I wish you the very best.
Judy Wilmurt
Judy Wilmurt is an experienced certified Natural Family Planning Practitioner and
also a member of the American Academy of Natural Family Planning.
© Copyright 2005 by CANFP
The information on this page and web site is for informational purposes only,
and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment by a physician.
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