Does female thyroid disease affect pregnancy? What are the symptoms?

Thyroid disease is common in women of childbearing age. It is a key point that modern women must pay more attention to before getting pregnant, because thyroid function affects both pregnant women and fetuses. If the thyroid function is abnormal during pregnancy, it may affect the development, growth and survival of the pregnant mother and fetus, and even the future growth of the child.

Most of the time, pregnant women already have thyroid disease before they become pregnant. The only difference is the time of discovery. As long as you follow the doctor's instructions and control the condition well, you can still enjoy the happy life of a pregnant mother.

The close relationship between thyroid gland and pregnancy

In the early stages of pregnancy, the body of pregnant mothers will secrete a large amount of human chorionic gonadotropin, which is similar in structure and has similar effects to thyroid stimulating hormone. Director Li Chunquan said that pregnant women often experience temporary symptoms similar to hyperthyroidism in the first 3 months of pregnancy. This is a normal pregnancy phenomenon and usually stabilizes after 5 months of pregnancy, without the need for special treatment. To reduce the thyroid symptoms associated with pregnancy and fetus, Director Li Chunquan suggested that women with thyroid disease should avoid pregnancy before their thyroid function is well controlled. It is best to control the thyroid function normally six months before the expected pregnancy. If you are pregnant and then find out that you have the disease, you must cooperate with the doctor's treatment, have regular blood tests, and closely track thyroid function. The preferred treatment during pregnancy is still mainly medication. Don't be afraid to take medication because you are worried that the medication will affect the fetus. If the condition is not stabilized and monitored, it will be more dangerous. The drug commonly used to treat thyroid in pregnant mothers is PTU. Since the drug has few side effects, although it will penetrate the placenta, the probability of causing malformations is extremely low. The doctor will take the lowest dose to maintain the normal function of the mother and closely track the thyroid function with blood tests, so it can be taken safely before preparing for pregnancy, during pregnancy or after breastfeeding. It takes about six weeks for the drug to take effect, and only then can the symptoms of thyroid disease be controlled. Women with thyroid disease should not stop taking the drug without authorization during pregnancy or after giving birth. Only through regular tracking and dosage adjustment by the doctor can the safety of mother and baby be ensured.

Effects of Hyperthyroidism

Pregnant women with hyperthyroidism may experience mild symptoms ranging from restlessness, nervousness, rapid heartbeat, sweating to shortness of breath, and these symptoms must be distinguished from the discomfort caused by pregnancy itself; moderate to severe symptoms may cause miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth, anemia, infection, pregnancy toxemia, placental abruption, and postpartum hemorrhage; the most serious is the thyroid crisis or thyroid storm, which may cause congestive heart failure in the mother and a high chance of death. For the fetus in the womb, if the pregnant woman does not receive appropriate treatment, the fetus may have a rapid heartbeat, low weight, and growth retardation. In more serious cases, there may be congenital abnormalities or stillbirth. 1% of newborns will develop neonatal hyperthyroidism, which is caused by thyroid-stimulating hormone antibodies in the mother's blood, which affect the baby's thyroid gland through the placenta. The newborn will have hyperthyroid symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, trembling, restlessness, crying, sweating, and weight loss. When symptoms occur, they must be sent to the doctor for treatment immediately.

Effects of Hypothyroidism

Since hypothyroidism is difficult to detect, many obstetricians and gynecologists are worried about the impact on mothers and babies, so they have included this as a routine test. When women with hypothyroidism are pregnant, the probability of obstetric problems is higher, and there may be intrauterine stillbirth, pregnancy-induced hypertension, early endometrial abruption and fetal period problems. If not properly controlled, the proportion of congenital central nervous system abnormalities in the fetus will also increase, affecting the nervous system and IQ of the future baby, so it is necessary to supplement enough thyroid hormone to avoid this situation.

Director Li Chunquan said that since the fetus must rely on the mother's thyroid hormones to develop and grow during the 10 to 12 weeks of embryonic period, the fetus's own thyroid function will not be able to function until after 12 weeks. However, even if it can produce it on its own, it may still be insufficient and the mother needs to supply thyroid hormones. Therefore, pregnant women with hypothyroidism must supplement thyroid hormone until after pregnancy and delivery, and then decide whether to continue supplementing based on the examination report.