Australian females prone to miscarriage will now have access to a hormone therapy that can minimise the risk of losing a pregnancy.
Utrogestan, a progesterone therapy, has been registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the federal government’s medicine and therapeutic regulatory branch.
The treatment is taken as a vaginal pessary to help prevent miscarriage in the first trimester for females who bleed during pregnancy and those who have already experienced three or more miscarriages.
Utrogestan is also used by menopausal women to relieve symptoms and administered to pregnant females during the luteal phase in in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycles.
Past research has consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of progesterone to increase the likelihood of a live birth for women with early pregnancy bleeding who have had three or more miscarriages.
One study from 2019 showed that almost three quarters of women who were at high risk of miscarriages and took progesterone were able to carry their baby to full time.
Dr Andrew Pickering, a Sydney-based obstetrician and gynaecologist told Nine.com.au that unexplained bleeding during the early phase of a pregnancy suggests an increased risk of early miscarriage.
Dr Pickering also said that for women who had previously lost a pregnancy, the likelihood for future miscarriage increases.
“Once a woman has suffered two or three pregnancy losses, her risk of a future miscarriage is more than doubled,” he said.
Dr Pickering is optimistic about the regulation of Utrogestan, as progesterone helps prepare the lining of the womb and assist the growth of a foetus.
“There’s evidence that [progesterone, provided by Utrogestan] will improve (women’s) chances of having a baby,” he added.
Patients trying to give birth are advised to begin taking Utrogestan at the first sign of bleeding during the first trimester of their pregnancy and keep taking it until the end of the 16th week of gestation.
The treatment is not cheap however — costing roughly $9 a day.