Many women with thyroid problems ask themselves what impact their disease can have on the course of pregnancy and the he alth of their baby. If you are pregnant and receiving treatment for an underactive or overactive thyroid gland, your pregnancy should be smooth. On the other hand, untreated thyroid diseases can be dangerous for the fetus.
We asked Dr. Edward Frank, MD, an endocrinologist from the Central Teaching Hospital in Warsaw, to answer these most frequently asked questions.
Will a woman with hypothyroidism give birth to a sick baby? How do you identify a newborn with congenital hypothyroidism?
If a pregnant womanhas clinical symptoms of hypothyroidism and is left untreated, the chance of having a he althy baby is small. On the other hand, when the hypothyroidism is balanced (normal hormone levels, symptoms disappear), the baby is usually born he althy. Congenital hypothyroidism can also occur in a child whose mother has had no problems withthyroid . If left untreated, it can lead to mental and physical underdevelopment. Currently, in Poland, every newborn in the 4th-5th year of life is On the day of life, the TSH hormone is determined (for this purpose, the child's blood is taken from the heel). This allows for early detection and appropriate treatment of hypothyroidism, which in most cases ensures the proper development of the child.
Can a future mother with an hyperthyroidism use vitamin preparations containing iodine during pregnancy?
If a pregnant woman has an overactive thyroid gland, iodine intake is not recommended. It is a substrate for the production of thyroid hormones and can exacerbate the symptoms of the disease. Therefore, in the case of hyperthyroidism, drugs that contain no iodine should be used (appropriate preparations should be indicated by the attending physician). However, if the pregnancy is normal or the pregnant woman has hypothyroidism, the administration of iodine is not only not contraindicated, but even recommended.
In what cases should a pregnant woman do thyroid function tests? What symptoms may be worrying?
Thyroid hormones play a very important role in pregnancy. Their proper concentration in the mother's blood, especially in the first stage of pregnancy, when the fetus is not yet producing its own hormones, depends, among other things, on proper development of the brain and skeletal system. In routine care for a pregnant womanThyroid function tests are not performed, but are sometimes indicated, for example when there are disturbing symptoms. In the case of hypothyroidism, these are, among others: weakness, drowsiness, slow heart rate, cold intolerance, and in hyperthyroidism: a feeling of shaking, muscle tremors, palpitations, hot and moist skin, diarrhea, heat intolerance. Regardless of the occurrence of symptoms, tests should be performed in women who have or had a history of thyroid disease before pregnancy, eg after thyroid surgery, who have nodules, etc. It is also worth doing if the woman previously had a miscarriage for unknown reasons. During pregnancy, not only TSH should be determined, which is physiologically lowered (especially in the first trimester) and may be misinterpreted as pathology. In order to make a correct diagnosis, it is also necessary to perform fT3 and fT4 tests, and sometimes also other tests.
TSH test during pregnancy - what should you know about it?
Is taking medications for hyperthyroidism a contraindication to breastfeeding?
It is now believed that a nursing woman can be treated with such drugs. Although anti-thyroid preparations (thyreostatic drugs) do get into the child's body, however, given to the mother in standard doses, they do not affect the function of the thyroid gland. In such cases, propylthiouracil is selected, which passes into the food to a lesser extent than thiamazole. Occasionally, skin sensitization (rash) may occur in nursed infants of mothers treated with thyreostatic drugs.
Thyroid problem and getting pregnant
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