Most studies indicate that progesterone is not harmful to milk production or the duration of breastfeeding. Progesterone or supplemental progestins enter breast milk in low amounts. Breastfeeding while taking progesterone or progestin is not expected to be harmful to an infant. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about all your questions about breastfeeding.
After birth, progesterone levels drop sharply. Since progesterone has been inhibiting the role of prolactin in milk production during pregnancy, this rapid decline in progesterone allows prolactin to participate in the lactation process. Although there have been no appropriate studies on the relationship between age and the effects of progesterone in the geriatric population, no specific geriatric problem has been documented to date. However, older patients are more likely to have breast cancer, stroke, or dementia, so care may be needed in patients receiving progesterone.
Studies in women suggest that this medication poses minimal risk to the baby when used while breastfeeding. While some medications shouldn't be used together at all, in other cases two different medications can be used at once, even if an interaction occurs. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose or other precautions may need to be taken. When you are taking this medication, it is especially important for your healthcare professional to know if you are taking any of the medications listed below. The following interactions have been selected based on their potential importance and are not necessarily exhaustive.
In addition to the necessary effects, a medication can cause some unwanted effects. While all of these side effects may not occur, if they do, they may require medical attention. Pills that only contain progesterone are preferred, as they are less likely to decrease milk production. However, some women are sensitive even to drugs that only contain progesterone and therefore it is recommended that they first use progesterone pills instead of receiving a high-dose progesterone injection (i.e. Depo-Provera).
This injection lasts 3 months and cannot be reversed once administered. If a mother who is breastfeeding has no problems with milk production after using pills that only contain progesterone, she can receive the injection. Estrogen and progesterone are hormones that maintain pregnancy and prevent premature birth or spontaneous abortion. There are many hormones that act during labor, but the main ones affecting breastfeeding are oxytocin, progesterone and prolactin.
A transgender woman was taking 4 mg of estradiol sublingually twice a day, 100 mg of spironolactone twice a day, and 200 mg of progesterone at bedtime as gender-affirming therapy. Progesterone is a hormone produced naturally in the body by the ovaries (female glands where eggs are formed and female hormones are produced). Progesterone is used to help prevent changes in the uterus (womb) in women who take conjugated estrogen after menopause.
