Thyroid disease is rather dangerous for women, who want to have a baby or have become the disease while being pregnant. As the thyroid disease is known for its negative influence on the baby some information for young or future mothers is of great importance.

Being diagnosed with hypothyroidism before pregnancy, the medication should be such that the TSH level in the blood is no more than 2.5 µU/ml. Being diagnosed with hypothyroidism during the pregnancy the treatment should start immediately. It is very important to return normal thyroid levels before pregnancy. When a woman gets a disease, being 4 to 6 weeks pregnant, the medication is much more intense.

Those women who have been diagnosed with thyroid autoimmunity in early stages of pregnancy are still at risk to get hypothyroid. The constant monitoring should be done regularly and all the necessary treatment adjusted.

The negative effect on the mother and baby could have a higher TSH level, with normal free T4 levels, so called subclinical hypothyroidism. At the same time some experts say that the treatment may be of a negative influence as well, but it still outweighs any possible risks.

The other potential danger for future mothers is Grave’s disease, which may cause lowering of TSH levels, leading to hyperthyroidism during pregnancy. The problem is in diagnosing hyperthyroidism and Graves' disease during pregnancy. The symptoms of the disease and pregnancy can coincide, which makes the detection more difficult. Besides, nuclear scanning and iodine uptake tests, which usually help to determine Graves' disease, are forbidden during the pregnancy. Still if the diagnose is proved the treatment should be started immediately. The medication usually includes antithyroid drugs, such as propylthiouracil, methimazole. The use of the former is a little bit less dangerous, that’s why it’s more popular. If patients are not tolerate to these drugs a surgery is usually recommended, otherwise the pregnancy is endangered. Regarding subclinical hyperthyroidism its treatment is not recommended, because the influence on the unborn baby is very negative and practically unavoidable.

While pregnancy future mothers should be rather careful and monitor their health properly, no to have any problems.