What do you need to know about hypothyroidism during pregnancy and what are the consequences for the child?

1 Stages of the disease

Hypothyroidism and pregnancy are often incompatible concepts, because the reduction of thyroid hormones in a woman can lead to infertility. Of course, with the initial stages of hypothyroidism, conception can occur, but the development of the fetus depends on how quickly this disease is diagnosed. The degree of this disease can be different. In women, subclinical or manifest hypothyroidism most often develops.

Manifest is a significantly reduced level of thyroid hormones. This degree of the disease is characterized by its pronounced symptoms, such as a decrease in the level of intelligence, poor metabolism and pathology of the cardiovascular system and heart. Conception at such a degree of disease is impossible because of large deficiencies of the hormone, so pregnant women with this form of the disease are not observed.

Subclinical hypothyroidism during pregnancy occurs quite often, and causes many violations of fetal development. This degree of disease is dangerous because of complex detection. It often happens that the disease does not manifest itself in any way, and clinical blood tests and ECG can not point out the problem. In this case, the neglected stage of the disease leads to terrible consequences.

Therefore, a pregnant woman should listen more carefully to her body, and at the slightest manifestation or predisposition to this disease, you should seek medical help. It is important to know! The timely treatment will help to protect yourself from this terrible disease.

2 Symptoms of pathology

Symptoms of hypothyroidism, especially in the early stages, are almost invisible. Doctors rarely pay attention to them, especially if they are not very pronounced. Therefore, most often their presence does not cause suspicion of this disease.

Symptoms include:

• endless severe fatigue;
• persistent muscle pain;
• poor condition of skin, nails, hair;
• the retardation;
• severe deterioration of vision and hearing;
• frequent headaches;
• persistent colds and infectious diseases;
• low body temperature;
• decreased immunity;
• low level of working capacity;
• depression, apathy;
• persistent drowsiness.

The peculiarity of these symptoms is that they have similarity with the manifestation of pregnancy itself, and are not a serious reason for suspicion of hypothyroidism. It is difficult to say how many percent of pregnant women did not feel such symptoms at least once. Sometimes the disease is not manifested at all or is too weak, which, on the background of other emotional and physical problems of pregnant women, remains invisible. However, if they manifest too often and bring discomfort to the pregnant woman, you should consult a doctor to find out the cause of this condition.

3 Influence of hypothyroidism on the course of pregnancy

When there is hypothyroidism during pregnancy, there are certain risks of complications. After a lack of thyroid hormones in a pregnant woman, first of all, will negatively affect the fetus. When the disease is detected, the physician should report all possible complications, such as:

• spontaneous abortion;
• fetal congestion;
• various malformations in the child;
• infringement of mental development of the kid;
• congenital hypothyroidism in a child.

When a woman experiences a spontaneous abortion, she needs to seek medical help to fully examine the thyroid gland. Because one of the reasons for miscarriage may be even the easiest form of subclinical hypothyroidism. In the event that the pregnancy persists and passes normally under the supervision of doctors, another dangerous problem may arise, related to the fetal repetition. This state is very dangerous for the mother and the child.

As a result of severe childbirth, a child can get injured and damage the central nervous system. And the woman herself can have serious ruptures of the perineum and cervix. Especially strongly hypothyroidism affects the fetus. After being still in the womb, he does not receive a sufficient amount of thyroid hormones, and this leads to the fact that the child is born with pathologies of development of the nervous and cardiovascular systems. Such a child often lags behind in development from peers both physically and mentally. But the main thing is that the lack of these hormones even in the pre-natal period, will manifest negative consequences throughout the life of the child.

4 Danger of the disease for the mother and fetus

Hypothyroidism actively begins to affect the fetus from the 9th week of pregnancy. Since the fetal thyroid does not yet function, it needs maternal hormones, which should help in the formation and development of the central nervous system. Pregnant women are often unaware of the development of the disease and mandatory medication that would compensate for the lack of thyroid hormones, so necessary for fetal development.

Of course, the main danger associated with this disease is the threat of termination of pregnancy. It can occur for various reasons, one of which can be placental abruption. There is a high probability of various pathologies in the fetus, retardation of intrauterine development of the fetus, and the risk of perinatal death is not ruled out.

Hypothyroidism in pregnant women in itself is dangerous, regardless of symptoms and other manifestations of it. This disease causes great damage to the body of a pregnant woman. In addition to the symptoms of the disease, there is also a human factor. After all, every mother is worried about the health of the unborn child, which causes emotional distress and stress for the pregnant woman. And this is very bad for both the mother and the baby. Therefore, it is best for this disease to be under the supervision of qualified doctors who will help to save the child, and to prevent undesirable consequences associated with the formation of the fetus.

5 Diagnostic methods

Thyroid hypothyroidism occurs in about 2-4% of pregnant women, many of whom do not even suspect the presence of this disease. In many countries, the topic of the need for screening pregnant women for hypothyroidism for the early detection of this disease has long been discussed. This would significantly reduce the number of negative outcomes of the course of this pregnancy. Many doctors send for additional diagnosis of pregnant women, based on existing risk groups:

• women who took levothyroxine in the anamnesis;
• with various autoimmune diseases;
• having goiter;
• women who underwent surgery on the thyroid gland.

Women belonging to risk groups are sent for diagnosis, which implies conducting laboratory tests to detect abnormalities of free T4.This indicator shows compensation for hypothyroidism. After receiving all the tests, the doctor, considering all the risks, appoints an effective treatment.

In addition to women at risk, there are others who complain about the presence of symptoms similar to this disease. In this case, the same diagnosis is performed, after which the doctor confirms or refutes the diagnosis.

6 Methods of treatment

When the diagnosis of the disease is confirmed, then the endocrinologist immediately prescribes the appropriate dose of drugs that replace thyroid hormones. This is done in order to normalize the level of thyroxine within a short time, which will ensure the correct formation of the fetus.

Treatment may not be limited to medicines alone, but in addition to these, a diet should be followed, which involves the rejection of carbohydrates, animal fats and salty foods. But it is necessary to eat foods with good fiber content, such as vegetables and cereals. A balanced diet will not only help to avoid the negative consequences of the disease, but it will also have a good effect on the fetus itself, because the right food is the key to human health.

For normal development of pregnancy with hypothyroidism, T4 should be monitored in order to adjust the course of treatment with medications.

Accurate dosage of the drugs will help the child to develop properly, and will reduce the risk of pathology.

Hypothyroidism is a serious enough disease that is associated with some risks, especially if it concerns pregnant women. Therefore, in order to avoid serious consequences of this disease, you should initially contact the appropriate doctor during the pregnancy planning phase. The doctor will examine the risks and predisposition of the organism to this disease, and determine the need for its treatment. But if the pregnancy has already occurred, you should listen more carefully to your body, so as not to miss the onset of the disease.