What are the dangers of high prolactin during pregnancy?

Pregnancy must be a very happy and blissful thing for women. However, many women become very worried after becoming pregnant, fearing that some of their behaviors will have a greater impact on the fetus, or that some factors in their bodies will harm the fetus, etc. After pregnancy, many pregnant women will experience increased prolactin, which has some dangers. Let’s introduce what the dangers are.

Excessive levels of prolactin can lead to infertility. Increased prolactin can significantly inhibit the normal secretion of pituitary gonadotropin, affecting the normal development of follicles, ovulation function and pregnancy function. The decrease in the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone will directly lead to the developmental disorder of the ovarian follicles, which will develop weak or incompletely and ultimately lead to the inability to conceive. Insufficient secretion of progesterone (luteinizing hormone) will cause impaired corpus luteum function, making it difficult to maintain the fertilized follicle's continued implantation and development. If the basal body temperature is tested and shows a low temperature below 36.8°C, it will be difficult to get pregnant, and even if conception occurs, miscarriage is likely to occur.

In addition, excessive prolactin will cause the ovaries to lose their ability to respond to gonadotropin, and the synthesis of estrogen and progesterone will be significantly reduced, causing estrogen, which plays an important role in the conception process, to be at a low level, directly affecting the fertility function. When the amount of sex hormones decreases to a certain level, patients will experience many symptoms similar to those of female menopause.

Causes of high prolactin

The cause of prolactin is very complicated. Physiological factors can cause the prolactin level in women to increase. For example, the prolactin level will increase during pregnancy and lactation. In addition, the prolactin level will also increase 3 to 4 weeks after delivery. After sexual intercourse, the prolactin level in women's bodies will increase briefly. Everyone must pay special attention. Secondly, there are many pathological factors that can cause the body's prolactin level to increase. Once the hypothalamus and pituitary gland are diseased, it will affect the function of the ovaries and may cause the body's prolactin level to increase.