Women should always pay attention to changes in their bodies after pregnancy to avoid accidents. Some women may find that their HCG has doubled during early pregnancy check ups, but their progesterone index is low. What's going on?
In the early stages of pregnancy, the HCG of women doubles, but progesterone is low, which may be caused by luteal insufficiency. On the sixth day of pregnancy, the female body secretes hCG, which then stimulates the corpus luteum to secrete progesterone. If a woman's HCG index increases normally but her progesterone index is low, it is possible that the corpus luteum is abnormal and unable to secrete enough progesterone.
Progesterone is important for women in the early stages of pregnancy, mainly because its function is to stabilize the internal environment of the uterus, reduce its sensitivity, and make it less susceptible to external interference, which is beneficial for stabilizing the smooth development and growth of the fetus in the uterus. If a woman's progesterone level is low, there may be situations such as fetal arrest, premature birth, miscarriage, etc., which are detrimental to the health of both the woman and the fetus.
Generally, progesterone is mainly secreted by the nourishing cells and corpus luteum of women between 8 and 10 weeks of pregnancy, while after 10 weeks, progesterone is mainly secreted by the placenta. Progesterone levels tend to increase throughout a woman's entire pregnancy, with a slower increase in early pregnancy and a faster increase in mid pregnancy, reaching a peak at term in late pregnancy.
