The Case for Thyroid Testing in Pregnancy

#thyroid #pregnancy

What is the thyroid? 🦋

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck.

What does it do?

The thyroid is responsible for ~~metabolic~~ total-body health, including a cascading effect for other systems in the body. When the thyroid is out of whack, you may gain weight, among a slew of other symptoms.

Additional symptoms include:

Hair loss
Brittle nails
Cold intolerance
Elevated cholesterol
Brain fog
Trouble swallowing
Fertility issues
- Painful periods
- Anovulatory cycles
- Recurrent miscarriages
- Low progesterone
Anxiety
Depression
Heart palpitations

But how common is it?

1 in 8 women will have thyroid issues in their lifetime. And of those with thyroid issues, roughly 60% of those diagnosed are diagnosed during pregnancy. AND 80-90% of those are caused by an autoimmune disorder called Hashimotos Thyroiditis (or Hashimotos, for short), which is a life-long immune disorder where the body attacks the thyroid gland.

What about for pregnancy?

Specifically for pregnancy, thyroid health can impact your chances of getting pregnant and staying pregnant. For the first trimester, your TSH should be under 2. In the second and third trimesters, TSH should be under 3. If it's not, you have a greater chance of losing your pregnancy, developing high-risk problems like preeclampsia, and potential fetal growth restrictions.

And postpartum? Thyroid problems postpartum mean an increased risk of severe postpartum depression, difficulty losing baby weight, slower healing time (especially for C-section moms), low milk supply, and more.

Where do we go from here?

It's super simple to test for thyroid health in pregnancy -- a routine blood test to test your TSH, T3, T4, and TPO antibodies. Most doctors will only test TSH and T4, but about 20% of women with thyroid issues have trouble converting T4 (the inactive thyroid hormone) into T3 (the active thyroid hormone. If that's the case, that patient may need a combo T4/T3 medication rather than just the standard T4 medication.

But that's it. A simple blood test. A simple cheap blood test can be the answer for someone suffering from recurrent miscarriages. And it may answer some other health questions they may have had concerns about!