Words by: Monika Friedman, Monika Friedman Coaching 

Progesterone, also referred to as “the pregnancy hormone", is key in helping the uterine lining to thicken in the luteal phase for better chances of implantation.

There are 3 main forms of progesterone support:
✔️Vaginal gel, suppositories or inserts
✔️Oral capsules
✔️Injectons

Which one is best?

One study (Jiang et al., 2019) compared vaginal progesterone sustained-release gel and progesterone injection in artificial cycle for frozen-thawed embryo transfer. The group with vaginal progesterone supplementation had slightly higher pregnancy rates.

Here's what the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology says:

💉 Injection of progesterone produces the highest blood levels.

💊 The absorption of progesterone through the vagina is more variable, but progesterone may exert a direct local effect when absorbed through genital tissue.

👄 Oral progesterone is rapidly absorbed into the circulation. For best blood levels, this should be taken twice a day. The oral progesterone has not been used clinically as long as the suppositories or the intramuscular preparations.

Your doctor may have a preference for which form of progesterone is prescribed, based on their experience with previous patients.

Your convenience and preference is also an important consideration. Maybe your body can't tolerate any more injections, and that's okay.