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The Creation of Maladaptation

A woman's hormonal problems can begin even before birth, during her fetal development. If her mother is under chronic stress and adrenally hyper-stimulated, the mother's body will draw on the developing fetus's "survival chemistry" to supplement her own body's hormonal needs.

During the second trimester, the placenta produces on average about 450 milligrams of progesterone a day, and some of this progesterone will be routed to the stressed mother and converted for stress purposes.

In the third trimester, the developing baby's adrenal glands begin to produce stress hormones, and these can also be taken and used by the mother.

Quick Definition - Endometriosis is the buildup of endometrial (uterine lining) tissue outside the uterus, most often in or on the fallopian tubes, ovaries and pelvic area. It is thought to be caused by or exacerbated by estrogen dominance (too much estrogen in relation to progesterone), and it can in turn cause organ dysfunction or intestinal blockage. Symptoms include painful menstruation and frequent and severe bleeding.

Women are rarely cautioned about this kind of fetal stress before or during their pregnancies. Nor are they told how the developing baby's adrenal glands will enlarge to meet the mother's demand for additional stress hormones.

A baby born in this state of secondary hyper-stimulation produces too much stress hormone.

While the baby's adrenal glands can eventually decrease their output, the glands will tend to reinflate more easily--like a balloon--every time extreme demands are made upon them.

If severe or chronic stress persists, however, hyper-stimulation continues.

As the baby grows and matures into an adult, this maladaptive cycle will be perpetuated, causing her sex hormones to be routed from her reproductive system and used for her own stress purposes.

Breaking the Stress Cycle

Once a maladaptive stress cycle has been established, it will continue until appropriate intervention takes place to restore hormonal balance. This can be done at any age, and functional hormonal testing is the first step.

The best type of stress and sex hormone testing is known as a circadian test, which is performed over a 24-hour period.

Sampling is easily accomplished at home, and the test results will determine the exact levels of accumulated stress and sex hormones.

Using a collection kit, a woman can obtain a saliva sample every four hours for 24 hours by chewing on a salivette (a small dacron roll).

The results will show specific hormonal changes that occur every four hours, demonstrating a 24-hour graphic representation of the body's stress reactions.

Salivary testing is the best test method because saliva contains free fractions of stress and sex hormones. Free fractions are the utilizable hormones, those that the body actually has access to.

Many studies have been conducted showing the validity of assaying these steroid hormones in saliva.

The usual hormone tests, conducted with blood samples, measure total hormone production, a value that includes bound (not free) hormones that are unavailable for the body's use.

It is important to measure free fractions to get an accurate picture of how sex and stress hormone levels are varying by body function and activity.

The Female Hormone Panel offered by our facility can provide valuable information not offered by conventional blood test.

Click Here to Read Part 5 of Women's Hormones 101