Low estrogen and progesterone levels in the first trimester after a frozen embryo transfer

I generally did not have good luck with my frozen cycles.  We did 5 frozen cycles, and had 3 very early miscarriages and my last pregnancy, which miscarried at 12 weeks after we saw multiple fetal abnormalities.  Of course, I didn’t have amazing luck with my fresh cycles either.  My first one produced my wonderful son.  (Jackpot!)  My second one was a blighted ovum, and my third was the anencephaly pregnancy. 

Because my last pregnancy was the only frozen one to go beyond an early blood test, it was my first time being pregnant with the hormonal issues of a frozen cycle.

My estrogen and progesterone levels remained low throughout the pregnancy.  Because they were low, I ended up staying on both supplemental estrogen and progesterone into my 12^th week—ironically I went off both of them the day before we found out there was no heartbeat.  (Yes, I had needle-sized shots for over 12 weeks just to end them the day before we lost the pregnancy.  My butt STILL hurts.) 

The nurses poo-pooed my concerns about my low values, suggesting that it is normal to have lower values during a frozen cycle.  But my fertility doctor suggested that there could be an association with poorly rising values and birth defects/pregnancy loss.

So, no huge surprise after having pretty low levels we lost the pregnancy.  For the record, here are my values: 

Estrogen

Pre-transfer  – <12

4w2d – 265 [3 estrogen pills/day]

8w3d – 622 [3 estrogen pills/day]

9w6d – 1316 [3 estrogen pills/day]

10w6d – 866 [1 estrogen pill/day]

11w5d – 941 [1 estrogen pill/day]

12w5d – 991 [1 estrogen pill/day]

Progesterone

4w2d – 22.9 [1ml progesterone in oil shot/day]

8w3d – 27.3 [1ml progesterone in oil shot/day]

9w6d – 30 [1ml progesterone in oil shot/day]

10w6d – 32.6 [1ml progesterone in oil shot/day]

11w5d – 29.3 [1/3ml progesterone in oil shot/day]

12w5d – 22.8 [1/3ml progesterone in oil shot/day]

This article suggests that estradiol should be much higher than mine was, as it should be in the thousands by the second trimester:

http://perinatology.com/Reference/Reference%20Ranges/Estradiol.htm

And here’s a great one that suggests low estrogen levels during pregnancy can reduce the fertility for daughters:

http://umm.edu/news-and-events/news-releases/2001/low-estrogen-levels-during-pregnancy-can-reduce-future-fertility-for-female-offspring

Awesome.