Why can't you have children due to hyperthyroidism?

Hyperthyroidism does not mean that one cannot have children. Hyperthyroidism is an endocrine disease that will affect women's menstruation. If a woman's confinement period is abnormal, it will affect her pregnancy. However, even if a patient with hyperthyroidism becomes pregnant, she needs to control the hyperthyroidism within a normal range, otherwise it will affect the baby's growth and development, and create the risk of miscarriage or premature birth. If a patient with hyperthyroidism becomes pregnant, she must undergo regular check-ups.

Can I have children with hyperthyroidism?

Women with hyperthyroidism can become pregnant and have children, but they should not become pregnant before the hyperthyroidism is cured.

If hyperthyroidism is not well controlled, the miscarriage rate can be as high as 26% and the premature birth rate can be as high as 15%. At the same time, if there is a slight deviation in the drug treatment of hyperthyroidism, it can also cause fetal hyperthyroidism, fetal thyroid enlargement, or even fetal hypothyroidism, affecting the fetal brain development and easily causing miscarriage, premature birth, and stillbirth.

Pregnancy itself will inevitably increase the physical and mental burden on women, increase the circulatory burden, and increase the incidence of gestational hypertension by 10 times, affecting the recovery of hyperthyroidism, and even aggravating hyperthyroidism and inducing thyroid crisis, which is life-threatening. Therefore, women with hyperthyroidism should not rush to get pregnant. They should first actively treat the hyperthyroidism and then consider pregnancy after the hyperthyroidism is cured.

Usually, antithyroid drug treatment takes at least 1.5 to 2 years to cure, and it is necessary to observe for about half a year after stopping the medication. If there is no sign of recurrence, pregnancy can be considered. If radioactive iodine is used to treat hyperthyroidism, pregnancy can be considered if thyroid function returns to normal six months later; if hyperthyroidism is treated surgically, pregnancy can be considered if there is no recurrence of the disease three months after the operation.

It is best for patients with hyperthyroidism to choose to get pregnant after the disease is cured, which is also for the health of the child. At the same time, patients with hyperthyroidism must persist in physical exercise for a long time, enhance their body's resistance, develop good eating habits, and avoid eating spicy and irritating foods.

What precautions should patients with hyperthyroidism take when preparing for pregnancy?

1. Closely monitor thyroid function before pregnancy

Eight weeks before pregnancy, women of childbearing age should go to the endocrinology department of a regular hospital to test their thyroid function and measure the level of thyroid hormone in the blood through venous blood sampling. The basic test items include TSH, FT3, FT4, A-TPO, and A-TG. Thyroid B-ultrasound can be performed if necessary.

2. Women with hyperthyroidism who are preparing for pregnancy should pay attention to their diet

The diet of women with hyperthyroidism who are preparing for pregnancy should be based on the principles of high calories, high protein, high vitamins, moderate fat and sodium salt intake, and less spicy and irritating condiments. The food should be soft, easy to digest and nutritious. Do not eat too much high-iodine food, such as kelp, seaweed, jellyfish, seaweed and algae, to prevent poor control of hyperthyroidism. No smoking, no alcohol, strong tea or coffee. Provide adequate carbohydrates and fats, and appropriately increase the intake of animal offal, fresh green leafy vegetables, or vitamin preparations. Appropriately control the intake of foods high in fiber. Hyperthyroidism patients often suffer from diarrhea, and excessive supply of fiber-rich foods will aggravate the diarrhea.