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			Concern Treatment Pregnancy Experiences Pregnancy Maintaining Your Pregnancy Hormonal Support Role of Hormones Hormonal Changes		Role of Hormones in Early Pregnancy Implantation is accompanied by the production of hCG from the embryo. The secretion of hCG prolongs and supports the corpus luteum (a yellow, progesterone-secreting mass of cells that forms from an ovarian follicle after the release of a mature egg) throughout the first 7 to 9 weeks of pregnancy.  The early pregnancy cannot be maintained without the corpus luteum. Women who have suffered a series of early miscarriages may be offered ‘luteal support’ by means of hCG or progesterone administration in order to establish a subsequent pregnancy. The major function of the corpus luteum is to secrete progesterone and oestrogens. These hormones sustain the endometrium (the glandular mucous membrane that lines the uterus) and prevent menstruation.  In addition, progesterone and oestrogens act on the endometrium to thicken it, especially beneath the embryo. The embryo responds by extending into the endometrium, sending root-like villi into the endometrial blood vessels to form the placenta.
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