Progesterone - Endogenous Progestogen (Nursing)

00:00 Now, we talked about giving estrogen outside of the body as a medication. We have talked about estrogen as a medication. Now we're going to flip to the other menstrual hormone endogenous progestin. These are the ones that my body and particularly, look at our picture of the ovary there, these are the ones that my body makes itself. Progesterone is produced by the ovaries in the luteal phase. Now we've got some other great video series that we go into detail on this when we talked about the menstrual hormones but you can see that once the egg is released once the ovum is released, then that ruptured follicle turns into the corpus luteum which is what puts out that progesterone. So, we have progesterone receptors in the cell nucleus. So we use this hormone in lots of places in your body. Now here's kind of a fun question. Let's hear the pregnant woman who's constipated. But, why are pregnant women prone to constipation? And if you are someone who has been pregnant or you've lived with someone who is pregnant, you know that this can be a really uncomfortable problem. But why are pregnant women prone to constipation? The answer is progesterone.

01:20 Because it suppresses uterine contraction, right? We want that uterus firm while it's growing a baby but it also suppresses GI smooth muscle contraction and that's why women who are pregnant are prone to constipation. So, what does progesterone do? Well, if the conception occurs, progesterone is the fundamental hormone that facilitates a women's pregnancy. So, progesterone is really important in pregnancy. They both start with P so that might help you remember that. Remember, it keeps that uterus strong but it also slows down that gut and puts a woman at risk for some GI issues and constipation. So let's take a little deeper look at what progesterone does. It maintains the thickness of that endometrium but before we go on I want you to stop and take a look at the drawing that we have there. So you can see that first. Let's start at the ovary. Now you can see the follicular phase as it moves around and they show you where the egg is released to that blue arrow and then it turns into the corpus luteum and the corpus albicans if pregnancy didn't happen.

02:28 But here's what happen. That egg was released and now you can follow the egg down the fallopian tube then you see the spot where the sperm meets the egg. Right? They're in fertilization. Then that egg travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus and it implants as an embryo. Now this is when progesterone's job really kicks in to high gear. The progesterone is what maintains the thickness of that endometrium that the baby needs to grow and be healthy and strong. Now progesterone will also stop other eggs from maturing. Right? Hopefully, just one at a time here in the natural process. We're not talking about multiple births now, we're just talking about usually that's what progesterone does in most births is it prevents other eggs from maturing.

03:13 It will relax the major muscles of the uterus because we don't want the uterus to contract. So a relaxed uterus keeps the baby involved, I mean engaged in the uterus rather than pushing the baby out when it's time for birth. Now progesterone will stop lactation until the baby is born and it will help strengthen those muscles and getting ready for the big job of labor. Alright, so what do we have here again? We have another list of things. So what do you need to do in your own personal study to make sure this list plants in your brain? So we're talking about progesterone, we already know that progesterone in pregnancy both start with Ps, so that will help. It keeps the endometrium thick, it stops other eggs from maturing, it relaxes the major muscles of the uterus, and it strengthens them for labor and it stops lactation until the baby is born. So, take a minute and just write some quick short-hand notes to your self so you have some things to remember when you come back and review your notes.