After Baby Is Born - When Things Don't Feel Right

What is Postpartum Thyroiditis

Postpartum Thyroiditis is a disorder of the Thyroid Gland.

Who gets Postpartum Thyroiditis?

This disorder accounts for most cases of postpartum thyroid dysfunction. It occurs in about 5 to 10% of postpartum women.

Predisposing Factors

Although the etiology of thyroiditis is obscure, recent research suggests that it is an autoimmune disease. It is believed to develop from the modifications to the immune system necessary in pregnacy.

Progression

It is characterized by a variable degree of thyroid enlargement, absence of thyroid tenderness, and a self-limited hyperthyroid phase of several weeks, often followed by transient hypothyroidism due to depleted thyroid hormone stores but usually eventual recovery to the euthyroid state.

The hyperthyroid phase may be brief or overlooked, and many women with this disorder are diagnosed when they become hypothyroid, which occasionally is permanent.

How is Postpartum Thyroiditis Diagnosed?

Symptomatic diagnisis & autoimmune antibody testing is successful.

How is Postpartum Thyroiditis treated?

Since thyroiditis is a self-limited transient disorder lasting a few months, conventional treatment is rare, but herbs & nutrtional therapy is strongly recommended. Most patients recover normal thyroid function, although some may remain permanently hypothyroid; therefore, thyroid function should be reevaluated in 6 to 12 months.

Symptoms