Progesterone, which is a hormone, is necessary to ensure that your pregnancy is successful. This hormone has to be present in the right levels in your body else you will not only have difficulties conceiving, but will also have a problem carrying your pregnancy to term. Those who have problems such as infertility that cannot be explained, have experienced a number of miscarriages, or are taking some kind of fertility drugs, find that going in for fertility testing helps. The results of your test will help you figure out if you have some basic health issues which might be causing infertility.
So what exactly is progesterone? The ovaries of a female create a hormone called progesterone. This hormone plays a very important role in the ovulation process and pregnancy. Once your ovaries release an egg, the follicle that remains becomes what is known as the corpus luteum. This corpus luteum, in turn, releases estrogen which goes on to produce progesterone. This progesterone helps to soften the lining of your uterus and helps with implantation.
The levels of progesterone vary during your menstrual cycle. Thus, with a series of multiple measurements you will be able to find out and manage certain causes of infertility. By going in for fertility testing and measuring the progesterone levels you can find out if ovulation has taken place and also keep a track of how successful you are as far as ovulation that is induced is concerned. During the early stages of pregnancy you will be able to identify the cause of a failing pregnancy or an ectopic pregnancy with the help of your progesterone readings and the human chorionic gonadotropin tests. Your doctor may also order that your progesterone levels be measured to help in the monitoring of pregnancies that are high-risk. If the levels of progesterone are low, it usually indicates ectopic pregnancies and, in some cases, miscarriages.
Your progesterone levels will also be monitored when you are receiving progesterone injections during early pregnancy. This would help you to figure out if the treatment is effective. Going in for a progesterone test will also prove beneficial in determining why bleeding of the uterine lining takes place in women who are not pregnant. The interpretation of your fertility test results will depend on why the test was ordered in the first place. If there is no monthly rise and fall in the progesterone levels, it may mean that you are not ovulating. If there is no rise in the levels during the early stages of your pregnancy it might mean that your pregnancy is failing or might be ectopic. Your doctor will be the best person to interpret the results of your test.