How does the TSH level change during pregnancy? | TSH

How does the TSH level change during pregnancy?

The pregnancy is divided into three main parts. As the child goes through different stages of growth and development in the mother, the need for thyroid hormones is significantly increased and varies in the three stages. A healthy thyroid gland is able to ensure this requirement under sufficient iodine supply.

The iodine requirement of a non-pregnant woman is at least 150 μg per day according to the recommendation of the World Health Organization. Due to growth processes, the iodine requirement of pregnant women is approximately 250μg per day. The iodine plays a role in the formation of thyroid hormones.

Since the need for thyroid hormones is high and thus many thyroid hormones are consumed, there is less feedback to the pituitary gland and thus increased secretion of TSH, which in turn causes increased secretion of thyroid hormones. In the three parts of the pregnancy to be subdivided (trimenomes), different reference values for TSH are given, which are also subject to the blood levels of the pregnancy hormones. In the first trimester, the first part of pregnancy, the TSH level is lowered by pregnancy hormones, which is normal. In the other two parts, the level slowly returns to normal.

TSH value and pregnancy

If a woman who wants to have children has hypothyroidism, close specialist medical care should be provided in consultation with the treating gynecologist. This is due to the fact that there is a greater need for thyroid hormones. Under certain circumstances, laboratory checks should be carried out every four weeks when the dose of thyroid hormones is adjusted.

Of course, a close monitoring of TSH is also necessary in cases of hyperthyroidism. A derailed thyroid gland function in under- or overfunction can be an obstacle to conception and ovulation and influence the desire to have children. In rare cases, after years of unfulfilled desire for children, an optimally adjusted thyroid gland can fulfill the desire for children, since ovulation now takes place regularly and all female hormones harmonize well in their structure. The TSH value is therefore a good parameter in the detection of under- or over-functioning of the thyroid gland.