During the nine months of your pregnancy, your entire body and mind worked very hard to nurture another life within you to give birth at the end of your pregnancy.
During labor, going through excruciating pain and feeling very tired in both your body and mind is common. Health conditions like diabetes, hypertension and thyroid are also some of the natural phenomena.
The thyroid – a small butterfly-shaped gland located at the front of the neck – is a hormone that travels through the bloodstream and spreads to all other parts of the body to keep the body process in check and make you stay warm
Postpartum thyroiditis, however, affects a very small percentage of new mothers – that’s 5% to 10% of you who suffer from postpartum thyroiditis. In this condition, you can either suffer from hyperthyroidism (releasing too many hormones) or over time you can become hypothyroid (releasing too many hormones).
What are the causes of postpartum thyroiditis?
Although experts are still studying the reasons behind postpartum thyroiditis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is believed to be an autoimmune disease, mainly related to the presence of anti-thyroid antibodies. Antibodies are those proteins produced by your immune system that create viruses and bacteria.
In the case of postpartum thyroid, anti-thyroid antibodies attack the thyroid gland, causing the thyroid gland to malfunction and become inflamed.
In addition to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, other factors are involved. Risk factors include:
- If the presence of anti-thyroid antibodies before you start your pregnancy journey and you continue your pregnancy without having to notice its signs, your chances of postpartum thyroiditis are higher.
- If you have suffered from type 1 diabetes during pregnancy, it can lead to thyroid after delivery. How? Gestational diabetes is defined by glucose intolerance at the start of your pregnancy. Due to physiological changes during pregnancy, there is increased insulin resistance. Associated pancreatic insufficiency also develops. Type 1 diabetes during pregnancy remains a permanent problem afterwards.
- Hypothyroidism is more associated with immune etiology as well as thyroid nodules. Therefore, lupus during pregnancy is associated with preterm birth and postpartum thyroid.
- In addition, 10% to 15% of you may have episodes of postpartum depression four weeks after the baby is born. Several studies have revealed that postpartum mood disorders are accompanied by postpartum thyroid problems.
- If you have had a family history of thyroid disease.
- If you have had thyroid problems in your previous pregnancies.
What are the symptoms of postpartum thyroiditis?
Since visiting the healthcare professional is the norm during pregnancy, with each passing trimester you may need to have various pregnancy blood tests. You will undergo three levels of thyroid hormone testing such as T3, T4 or TSH to understand your thyroid symptoms after your baby is born.
As mentioned earlier, there are two types of thyroid – hyper and hypothyroidism.
Signs of hyperthyroidism
This is the first thyroid phase, which spans between two and six months postpartum and lasts up to three months. You should suffer from:
- temporary and mild muscle weakness
- heat intolerance
- feeling anxious or irritable
- hair loss
- thinning hair
- Weight loss
Signs of hypothyroidism
In the hypothyroid phase – three to eight months after giving birth, you will feel:
- Your skin should be dry
- Tired
- Forgetful
- Weak in muscles
- Body pain
- Tingling sensation near the joints
- Depressing
- Weight gain
While 80% of you can return to normal thyroid function between 12 and 18 months after giving birth, 20% of you can develop easily treatable hypothyroidism.
How to treat postpartum thyroiditis?
Postpartum thyroiditis does not last long. It fades very soon.
But there are treatments available for both – hyperthyroidism (mild) as well as hypothyroidism (overactive).
You will not need medication, except that your doctor will do some tests to monitor this condition, in case of hyperthyroidism (mild thyroid), which is neither high nor low. If you have hypothyroidism (overactive), your doctor will give you medicine to prevent inflammation.
According to experts from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD), the medications you need to manage your thyroid levels after delivery reach the child through breast milk. Along with prescription drugs, according to experts, you should include the right sources of iodine from dairy products, eggs, meat, etc.
Postpartum health conditions are some things that you cannot skip. You have to accept the challenges and move forward with them as the thyroid can be a permanent problem.
Daily checkups, the right medications, and the right diet can help you keep your thyroid under control.
