|
A.
No medicine should be given to a pregnant woman unless it is absolutely essential. There can be serious consequences to mother and/or baby if this elementary precaution is not observed.
There can be various causes of abdominal pain; to reach a conclusion that the pain originated in the uterus would be scientifically incorrect unless there is firm evidence. Abdomen has so many organs - stomach, liver, pancreas, kidneys, intestine, bladder just to mention a few. The most common cause of acute pain in abdomen is related to intestine including indigestion, consumption of infected food/water etc. Simply because a woman is expecting does not mean that every abdominal pain is related to pregnancy. Unless the cause of pain is firmly established, it would be unwise to use drugs.
Susten is the brand name of a hormone called progesterone. It is used for the treatment of dysfunctional uterine bleeding. It is also used for the maintenance of early pregnancy (up to 12th week only) in cases of documented history of repeated miscarriages due to luteal phase defect. In other words there should have been repeated miscarriages in the past and there should be documented luteal phase defect (i.e. progesterone deficiency). Unless these two conditions are met, it should not be given.
The use of this hormone during the second (12-24 months) and third (24-36 months) trimester of pregnancy can lead to the development of cholestatic jaundice of pregnancy or hepatocellular (liver) disease.
Unfortunately many companies, due to their commercial interests, are actively promoting the use of progesterone to help pregnancy as if it is a vitamin.
The side effects of progesterone are: weight gain, fluid retention, acne, chloasma, allergic skin rash, mental depression, hair loss, hirsutism (facial hair), fatigue, drowsiness, fever, alterations in lipids, etc.
|