Q: I am 25 weeks pregnant. In my 16th week, I had bleeding (threatened abortion). I took a few injections of hormones and bed rest was advised. After the 20th week, I have been having contractions. My doctor said that its similar to the labour contractions. I had 2 miscarriages before this pregnancy. He advised me to start Cyclogest, but I am scared of the side effects. Is it safe to use the drug? Could it harm my baby, or me? Is it not recommended in the second trimester? My work involves a lot of walking, could this be the reason for my contractions?

A:Cyclogest is the brand name of a medicine called progesterone. Normally its use during pregnancy is neither indicated nor permitted. The use of Cyclogest is only indicated if there is proven deficiency of progesterone or in cases of recurrent miscarriages or infertility due to inadequate luteal phase. You have mentioned that you suffered two miscarriages in the past but not the reasons for such events. There can be many reasons for miscarriage. Inadequate luteal phase is one of them. Unless the reasons for previous miscarriages are known, it is very difficult to decide whether or not progesterone is needed.