Dealing with Morning Sickness, Part 2

I have found a wonderful discovery to help with morning sickness in this pregnancy- natural progesterone cream! Back when I was newly married, my mother-in-law gave me a book by John R. Lee called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause."  Being years away from that stage in life, I had placed it next to my many other nursing and health books, and never gave it much thought after that. Recently I began to have terrible migraines that seemed to occur at the same time as my monthly cycle. After one really bad episode that required meds to keep me from vomiting, my mother suggested I take natural progesterone cream to help balance my hormones.  Hmm, didn't I have a book somewhere that talked about that? I began to apply the cream 2 weeks out of the month and didn't have migraines for the next 2 cycles. Then life got busy and I forgot that month. Back in bed for several days with migraines. The following month I did not forget to apply the cream! I was a believer that it was making a big difference. Then I got pregnant and so quickly got on the computer to research about progesterone cream and pregnancy, did I just quit applying the cream?

I was surprised by the answer I found.  It is actually believed that morning sickness can be caused by low levels of progesterone early on in pregnancy. Progesterone levels slowly rise the further we get into pregnancy, thus by the second and third trimester, our hormone levels are high enough and we start to feel better. In fact, during the third trimester the placenta produces progesterone at a rate of 300 to 400 milligrams per day. Our progesterone levels naturally diminish as we get older, especially as we reach our 40's (that would be me!) It made complete sense, and I was really excited at my new finding. I started applying a small amount once a day, but have found that I need to apply a generous 1/4 teaspoon every morning and every evening in order to feel better. I have read you can apply up to 3/4 teaspoons 3 times a day, but I have not needed to use that much. It is important that you use natural progesterone derived from wild yam and not synthetic, chemically altered hormones made by a pharmaceutical company. They are not the same thing, in fact, the synthetic hormones are very dangerous to your health. Our bodies know how to take naturally derived substances and utilize them without side effects. Synthetic hormones, or progestins, are known for their many dangerous side effects, including the risk of early abortion, while natural progesterone is necessary for the survival and development of a baby throughout pregnancy.

I cannot believe how much better I feel compared to my last 4 pregnancies. I still have some nausea, which is usually relieved by eating, and I do have some food aversions and cravings, but I have not vomited a single time this pregnancy! Yeah!

And natural progesterone helps a whole host of problems, not just morning sickness. Most women are estrogen dominant (allergies, depression, fatigue, headaches, foggy thinking, infertility, irritability, memory loss, miscarriage, PMS, thyroid problems, uterine cancer, water retention, just to name a few!) So read Dr. Lee's book or do some research online to learn more.

It is important to note that if taking progesterone cream while pregnant, to never stop using it abruptly, which could cause miscarriage. The dosage needs to be diminished gradually.