Thyroid disease and pregnancy
The thyroid is often blamed for exhaustion. I’ve heard many women say something like, “I must have a thyroid problem, I’m just so tired all the time!” That small, butterfly-shaped organ just below your voice box had a lot of power. It can make you exhausted and gain weight if it underperforming or it can send you into overtime with a rapid pulse rate and extreme weight loss if it is overperforming.
So, what has this to do with pregnancy? Two hormones that are related to pregnancy (hCG and estrogen) increase the level of thyroid hormone in the blood. This is needed to help the baby’s brain and nervous system develop properly during the first three months of pregnancy. Because of the increased level of thyroid hormone, if a woman does have thyroid disease, it is more difficult to detect or manage, because the true level of thyroid hormone is hard to detect.
The thyroid gland needs iodine to produce its hormone; usually women get an adequate amount in their food and/or their prenatal vitamins, but some women don’t get enough. Without enough iodine, the thyroid may begin to malfunction.
To read about the effects of a malfunctioning thyroid and how it can affect pregnant women and their babies, go to Pregnancy and Thyroid Disease, where it is very well explained.
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Tags: pregnancy blog, pregnancy and thyroid disease, hyperthryroid when pregnant, hypothyroid when pregnant, thyroid, iodine
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