When a woman is pregnant, her body needs enough thyroid hormone to support a developing fetus and her own expanded metabolic needs. Healthy thyroid glands naturally meet increased thyroid hormone requirements. Women with an undetected mild thyroid problem may suddenly find themselves with pronounced symptoms of hypothyroidism after becoming pregnant. If you have a thyroid condition, be sure to tell the health care provider who will take care of you during your pregnancy. It’s best if you do this before you become pregnant.
If you have thyroid problems and your condition isn’t well controlled, it can lead to different complications which include:
- Your thyroid hormones are critical to normal development of the baby’s brain and nervous system — which means babies who don’t get enough of these hormones in the first trimester, when they’re dependent on the mother’s supply, can be born with neurological and physical development problems.
- Stillbirth and miscarriage (abortion occurring before the 20th week of pregnancy)
- Preterm labor (labor, which occurs before the completion of 37 weeks of pregnancy), low birth weight babies and learning disabilities later in baby’s life
- Pre-eclampsia which can cause high blood pressure and fluid retention in the mother and growth problems in the baby
- Anaemia in the mother
- Heart failure
- Thyroid storm (life-threatening type of hyperthyroidism, due to high levels of thyroid hormones). Symptoms of a thyroid storm include rapid heartbeat, high temperature (fever) over 38C (100.4F), diarrhoea and vomiting, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), severe agitation and confusion and loss of consciousness.
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
References:
https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/complications/thyroid-disorder.aspx
http://www.thyroidawareness.com/the-thyroid-and-pregnancy
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/underactive-thyroid-hypothyrodism/complications/
