Thyroid in Pregnancy: Thyroid disease is a group of different disorders that affect your thyroid gland. The thyroid is a small butterfly-shaped gland on the front of your neck that secretes a hormone called the thyroid. Thyroid hormone controls the body’s energy use and controls. Apart from that it affects every essential part of your body needed for its operation.
When does Thyroid disease Occur?
Due to disturbances in the thyroid gland, this hormone sometimes becomes too much and sometimes too little in the body. When there is too much thyroid hormone in the body, such a condition is called hyperthyroidism and when it is less then it is called hypo thyroid sum.
But you can conceive even if you have thyroid problems. For this, you will have to get a regular thyroid test done and regularly take the medicines prescribed by the doctor.
There are many problems during pregnancy that cause problems for both the mother and the baby. If the mother has thyroid, then it becomes a cause of more trouble for you.
Thyroid problem has become a common problem in today’s time, especially in women. After getting this disease, there are many problems in pregnancy. Severe thyroid problems can put both the mother and the baby at risk.
Symptoms of Thyroid During Pregnancy
- Rapid gain and loss of weight.
- Extreme tiredness and lack of sleep.
- Muscle weakness and increased cholesterol.
- Swelling of eyes and face.
- Heart not working properly.
- Headache, pain in neck and joints.
- Shaking of hands
- getting colder.
- Muscle cramps.
- Problems related to memory or concentration.
Effects of thyroid on the unborn baby
- Premature birth of a child.
- Low birth weight of the baby.
- To have miscarriage.
- Rapid increase in the mother’s blood pressure in the late stages of pregnancy.
- heart failure.
- Having a soft spot in the baby’s head.
- It affects the physical and mental development of children. Sometimes the child can be abnormal as well.
Causes of Thyroid During Pregnancy
There are 5 types of thyroid, but in a developing country like India, the problem of hypothyroidism is quite common among pregnant women.
1. Iodine deficiency
The main reason for the problem of hypothyroidism is the lack of iodine in the body of a pregnant woman. According to the World Health Organization, a normal woman should consume 150 mg of iodine per day and a pregnant woman should take 200 to 250 mg of iodine per day.
Due to the lack of iodine in the body, the thyroid gland is not able to make hormones in the proper amount, due to which the lack of iodine in the body of a pregnant woman can hinder the brain and physical development of the baby.
2. Another Cause of Hypo Thyroid
Another cause of hypothyroidism in pregnancy is that it is an autoimmune disease that triggers the body’s white blood cells and antibodies to destroy thyroid gland cells.
If this disease is not treated, then the patient can die slowly in 10 to 15 years. No one has been able to know the real cause of this disease yet, but some experts believe that it is caused by a virus or bacteria, and some doctors believe the reason for this is the patient’s genes.
3. Causes of Graves’ Disease
Hyperthyroidism in pregnancy is usually caused by Graves. In Graves’ disease you feel tired and your eyes come out. It is a disorder of your immune system. In this disease, your immune system starts making such antibodies, due to which the thyroid gland starts making thyroid hormones in excess.
These antibodies that increase the thyroid are also called immunoglobulin plasma cell glycoproteins or TSIs. Graves’ disease can occur during pregnancy. An overdose of thyroid is bad for the health of the pregnant woman and her baby.
4. Your Lifestyle Is Also Responsible
It would not be wrong to say that today thyroid diseases have become associated with lifestyle. They have been found to have a direct association with diabetes, hypertension and lipid disorders. Due to wrong diet like fatty foods, excessive calorie intake, lack of vitamins and minerals, our body is not able to do its work properly. Due to which problems like weight gain and obesity also increase.
5. Chemical element is also responsible
Other hormones in the body also have an effect on the thyroid gland. Unbalanced hormone levels have a bad effect on the thyroid. Chemical substances used in air, water and food items can also be the cause of thyroid. X-rays can also cause mutations in thyroid cells, which increases the chances of cancer. In such a situation, a doctor should be consulted to check the quality of food and water and thyroid.
Tips to avoid thyroid during pregnancy
To get rid of thyroid, its proper treatment is very important. Therefore, pregnant women should get thyroid checked every month during pregnancy and should also take medicines at the right time.
1. Exercising
If there is a thyroid problem in pregnancy, the pregnant woman should exercise for half an hour daily and should get treatment from the doctor. If you want that thyroid does not have any bad effect on your baby, then take the medicines at the right time with the advice of the doctor and keep getting it tested from time to time.
Exercising increases the body’s metabolism and exercise has a direct and positive effect on the thyroid gland. The dosage given for the treatment of thyroid during pregnancy can be increased or decreased according to the need. Usually during pregnancy the dosage of medicine is increased in the treatment of thyroid but after the birth of the baby it is reduced as per the requirement.
2. The Right Diet
There are many vitamins and nutrients that are needed to make thyroid hormones. If you do not take a balanced diet containing essential nutrients, then you will have to face problems like thyroid because it is very important to keep the stomach and digestion system right during pregnancy.
Pregnant women who have thyroid problems should take more and more fiber in their diet because it does not cause constipation, because the problem of constipation becomes more due to thyroid.
3. Consume Iodine
Pregnant women who have thyroid problems must include iodine in their diet because iodine proves to be very helpful in controlling thyroid. For this, take natural iodine like tomato, onion, garlic etc.
4. Water
Pregnant women should drink 3 to 4 liters of water daily to get rid of thyroid. This will help in flushing out the toxic material from the body. Apart from this, you should drink one to two glasses of juice daily and drink coconut water once a week.
5. Green Vegetables
Include green vegetables rich in vitamin A and iron in your diet. Iron is found in almost all types of green vegetables, which is very helpful in controlling hypothyroid. Vitamin A is found in abundance in carrots. It also helps in controlling the thyroid.
6. Fruits
Doctors recommend eating some special fruits in thyroid. These mainly include bananas, oranges, strawberries and blueberries.
7. Cereals
Grains that are rich in fiber and protein, must include such foods in your diet, in which rice and wheat are the main ones.
8. Milk
In the case of thyroid, you can also include milk and things made from it in your diet like cheese, curd, cottage cheese etc.
9. Liquorice
Pregnant women who suffer from thyroid, those women feel tired after a while, so they are advised to eat liquorice. Due to the consumption of liquorice, the secretion of hormones from his thyroid gland is in balanced quantity, due to which there is less fatigue.
10. Stay away from stress
If a woman has thyroid during pregnancy, she should remain relaxed and at the same time take complete rest. He should take full care of the health of himself and his unborn child and follow every advice of the doctor sincerely. This will keep both you and your baby safe.
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Home Remedies of Thyroid
- A woman suffering from thyroid should use rock or black salt in her food.
- Thyroid test must be done within the third to fifth day after the birth of the child.
- If you have thyroid in pregnancy, you should stay away from diet containing soy. It is advised to avoid eating such as soybeans, tofu, soy sauce etc.
- Tea and coffee should also be avoided in case of thyroid as they contain high amount of caffeine.
- Gas-producing vegetables should not be consumed if you have thyroid. Such as cabbage, radish, broccoli and spinach etc.
- Spicy food should not be eaten during pregnancy.
- If we have this disease, we should not be careless and should get the doctor checked up every month. The medicine should also be taken at the right time and in the right quantity.
- You can also use iodine therapy or surgery as a last option if the thyroid problem is more severe.
