Thyroid Symptoms In Female During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is an incredibly joyful time but what happens if your thyroid goes haywire.
Thyroid symptoms in female during pregnancy. The thyroid diseases hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are relatively common in pregnancy and important to treat. Thyroid disorders may be present before women become pregnant or they may develop during pregnancy. The thyroid gland can increase in size during pregnancy enlarged thyroid goiter. The thyroid is functioning normally if the tsh and free t4 remain in the trimester specific normal ranges throughout pregnancy.
However pregnancy associated goiters occur much more frequently in iodine deficient areas of the world. Sometimes symptoms of thyroid problems are mistaken for menopause symptoms. But generally the following are risks. For that reason thyroid problems sometimes can start or get worse during pregnancy or after childbirth.
Thyroid problems during pregnancy can cause health problems for the mother and the baby. Thyroid disease especially hypothyroidism is more likely to develop after menopause. If you are taking levothyroxine you should increase your dose by approximately 25mcg daily as soon as you have a positive pregnancy test. Being pregnant does not change the symptoms of thyroid disorders.
How the fetus is affected depends on which thyroid disorder is present and which drugs are used for treatment. The thyroid enlarges slightly in healthy women during pregnancy but usually not enough for a health care professional to feel during a physical exam. Pregnancy causes major changes in the levels of hormones made by the thyroid gland located in the front of the neck. Uncorrected thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy has adverse effects on fetal and maternal well being.
Thyroid disease in pregnancy can affect the health of the mother as well as the child before and after delivery. It is likely that you will require higher doses of levothyroxine during pregnancy especially during the first 20 weeks to provide sufficient supply of thyroid hormones to the baby. The thyroid makes the hormones t3 and t4 which control. Thyroid disorders are prevalent in women of child bearing age and for this reason commonly present as an intercurrent disease in pregnancy and the puerperium.
This slideshow shows how you can develop a thyroid condition such as hyperthyroidism hypothyroidism and postpartum thyroiditis during or after pregnancy. Learn more about pregnancy and thyroid disease including how it affects a women s hormone health and what treatment options are available.