Women, Pregnancy and Graves' Disease

            In this cross-sectional study, 78 infants born to mothers with autoimmune thyroid disease were investigated to evaluate the impact of maternal thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum thyroid function. Infants born to healthy mothers at the same time were set as controls. Researchers also focused on identifying possible maternal, neonatal and environmental risk factors that cause early infertile thyroid dysfunction. The patients were 78 newborn infants delivered to mothers with autoimmune thyroid disease. Of those newborns 57 were born to mothers with Graves' Disease and 21 were born to mothers with Hashimoto thyroiditis. Seventy-seven of the mothers had Graves' Disease or Hashimoto's Disease before pregnancy, only one mother developed Graves' Disease during pregnancy. Researchers collected heel capillary blood from the infants when they were 3 days old, to detect there TSH levels. If the infants TSH levels were over 9 miu they were called back right away and the others were called back 28 to 35 days after birth. The result concluded that maternal autoimmune thyroid disease during pregnancy will affect an infant's thyroid function. Readers can conclude that proper management of the mother's thyroid disease is important in preventing an undesirable neonatal outcome. .
             This article presents a description of a case of a 35 year old women who is suffering from thyrotoxicosis while pregnant. Thyrotoxicosis is a descriptor for a pattern of biochemical abnormalities. Her doctor determines that the cause of her thyrotoxicosis is Graves' Disease. When thyrotoxicosis is due to Graves' Disease there are three treatment options; radioiodine therapy, thyroidectomy and anti – thyroid drugs. The reader can learn the specifics of what is required with each of these treatment options. The risk to the fetus in a women with Graves' Disease was also discussed. If thyroid levels are not properly controlled during pregnancy it could lead to complications such as miscarriage, low birth weight, prematurity, preeclampsia and congenital malformations.