In an ideal world every pregnant woman should have a simple thyroid test performed to examine her thyroid function, because the symptoms of thyroid problems are often masked by all the changes that take place in the body during this time.
Consequently, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism can result in a miscarriage or brain damage to the fetus growing in the womb.
Up to five women in every thousand will suffer with a thyroid condition but usually goes undiagnosed. A decade ago, Dr. James E. Haddow, lead a study in Maine that examined over twenty five thousand women that were pregnant.
The children of the 62 found to have hypothyroidism were all found to have lower intelligence; they were all aged approximately eight years old.
Currently only women at high risk are tested and this is likely to remain the case. However, certain endocrinologists routinely test pregnant women as a matter of course. The medical world is fairly split over the matter so more research will need to be done in this area.
It appears that therapy involving T4 replacement is very successful, this was highlighted by researchers in Italy. The latter resulted in data noting sharp declines in miscarriage and other factors after at risk women were given a simple thyroid hormone tablet.
The thyroid gland is very important, situated in the neck region; it controls the bodies’ metabolism by regulating the heart rate, weight and various other areas, vital in staying healthy. The American Thyroid Society believes that eventually universal routine testing will be carried out on pregnant women.
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I have a thyroid problem and I ended up having my daughter early at 30 weeks. The thyroid had very little to do with it according to my doctor. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia during my pregnancy and this was the reason why she was born early. In response to children who were born from mothers that had a thyroid problem being less intelligent is very untrue in my case. My daughter has been in preschool since she was 1 1/2 and she is now 3, and at a 4 year old learning level.