Pregnancy + Natural Progesterone = Superior Baby

By: Sterling Morgan

What if there was a natural substance that when used by a pregnant woman could:

• Protect the fetus from miscarriage
• Increase the feeling of well being of the mother
• Increase the potential IQ of the child, and
• Produce calmer, less colicky babies!

That substance exists, and it is natural progesterone. We are not speaking about a synthetic drug like Provera, but rather one made from the extract of the Wild Mexican Yam, which precisely duplicates the chemical structure of natural progesterone as produced by the human body.

Ask your doctor about progesterone and pregnancy, and he or she will probably tell you that the female produces up to 10 times more endogenous progesterone while pregnant.

If you are asking about taking progesterone during pregnancy, you will most likely be told that it can be harmful to the fetus. However, the doctor is talking about synthetic progesterone, called "progestins" or "progestogens", not the natural substance. Synthetic progestins are manufactured in the lab, and while they perform some of the functions of the natural type, they also block other important biological functions, such as the body’s own production of progesterone.

Since a developing fetus actually requires natural progesterone for it’s growth and well being, which is why the body produces much more during pregnancy, it is easy to see why anything which lessens the natural substance could be harmful. Since the natural version is rather inexpensive and unpatentable, drug companies make the synthetic kind and then ask users to live with the many side effects.

What the doctor probably won’t know is that over 25 years ago, a British doctor named Katerina Dalton researched the supplemental use of natural progesterone for pregnancy. She found that the children of mothers treated with it actually had faster development of motor skills, higher intelligence, graduated from college more often. They were calmer, better adjusted babies than the babies whose mothers did not take it.

In an article published in 1968 in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Dalton studied 60 children at the age of one year. Twenty-nine of these were born to mothers who used supplemental natural progesterone during pregnancy. The mothers of the other 31 did not use any. Over 90% of the "progesterone" children were standing by age one, compared to only 60% of the "non-progesterone" children. Also at age one, over 60% of the "progesterone" children were walking, compared to about 35% of the "non-progesterone" children.

Even more significantly, Dalton followed a different group of 79 children and related their school grades to whether their mothers had taken natural progesterone during pregnancy. She used a scale from 0 to 100% to measure their scholastic achievement in various subjects at school. This scale did not reflect actual grades received, but was an arbitrary method of measuring success.

In all cases, "progesterone" children did better than the "non-progesterone" children, but in some cases the results were astounding! She also discovered that the best results occurred when the progesterone was started before the 16th week of pregnancy. Math skills were three times as high (60% to 20%) in progesterone children, and this was only for those whose mothers took it before the 16th week. For mothers who took it after the 16th week, the scores were 30%, still a 50% improvement over non-progesterone children.

Progesterone children scored much higher than non-progesterone in verbal reasoning skills, academic subjects, and significantly better in physical education and English. In fact, the only skill where non-progesterone children scored almost as high as the progesterone children was in crafts.

Finally, children whose mothers used natural progesterone were about seven times more likely to gain entrance to a university than their non-progesterone counter parts. A possible reason for the apparent increase in IQ and academic performance seems to be natural progesterone’s ability to retain glucose in the blood stream, thus elevating it. Since the fetus’ developing brain needs all the glucose it can get, natural progesterone allows more to reach it, and it may develop more than the brain of a baby whose mother did not take supplemental natural progesterone.

It is also thought that the euphoria and general well being experienced by many women during various portions of their pregnancy is due to the elevated output of natural progesterone. This hormone could be called the "good hormone" because it has many benefits to health for women. Some of these effects are:

• Promoting synthesis of adrenal corticosteroids, the natural hormones which are essential to combat stress
• Lowering of cholesterol in blood
• Lowering of insulin secretion
• Lowering histamine release
• Improving kidney function
• Benefiting the immune system by promotion of phagocytosis and/or antibody production
• Relief of vascular spasms

New method of delivery, natural progesterone is not effective when taken orally, since it is broken down in the stomach and also removed from the blood stream by the liver. The most effective and convenient way of applying it is by transdermal application.

A product called Progestone 900( is available and it contains 1,995 mg. Wild Mexican Yam extract along with 900 mg. natural progesterone. It is simply gently applied to the soft areas of skin on the neck, arms, breast, face, or abdomen. The progesterone penetrates the skin and enters the fat cells where it is stored and utilized as needed. Only small amounts are applied, and one jar is very cost effective.

Natural progesterone has many other beneficial uses, including prevention of PMS and menopausal symptoms, and reversal of osteoporosis. Dr. John Lee of Sebastopol, California has had 14 years experience with Progestone 900 cream for the treatment of osteoporosis and has been published in the British Medical Journal, Lancet, on his 100% success with reversal of this life threatening, degenerative condition in women.

Women who are interested in using natural progesterone during their pregnancy may obtain it through pharmacies or alternative health practitioners. Only some of them are aware of the benefits for pregnancy since it is most often used for the other problems cited previously. 

Nutrition

In general, follow these simple guidelines:

Eat foods that are high in fiber and nutrients, and avoid those that are high in fat and sugar. This is good advice at any time and especially during pregnancy. By adhering to this rule, you will make sure to get plenty of natural vitamins and minerals. In addition, constipation, a common problem among pregnant women, will be avoided.

Choose natural foods. Avoid foods that are packaged, prepared, canned, or frozen. These products usually contain a lot of salt, sugar, chemicals, etc. This is not at all what you or your baby need. Read all product labels carefully.

Avoid all drugs, including over the counter preparations. Consult your doctor or pharmacist before using any medication because many of them, which are perfectly okay during other times, may have undesirable effects during pregnancy.

Avoid alcohol and do not smoke. Remember that a healthy child is not a birthright. The choices you make during pregnancy will determine its outcome.  

By following the above rules and guidelines, you will ensure the best possible results for you and your baby’s health and well being.

To Your Health, May/June