Researchers from Tilburg University and the University of Amsterdam believe that the thyroid function of pregnant women should be tested as standard. What are the advantages of that?
What does your thyroid do? Your thyroid controls many processes in your body. If your thyroid is working too hard, you can suffer from diarrhea, heart palpitations and weight loss. If your thyroid works too slowly, you can feel tired, you can gain weight and you get cold quickly. Still, not everyone gets complaints if there is a deviation.
Important for the baby It is especially important for pregnant women that the thyroid gland secretes enough hormones. The unborn baby does not produce thyroid hormone itself until 20 weeks. Until then, the fetus is dependent on the mother's thyroid hormone.
Screen Every year, 1,000 women become pregnant who unknowingly produce too little thyroid hormone. The researchers are of the opinion that thyroid screening should take place as standard. Blood is already being drawn and it will hardly cost anything extra if the thyroid hormone is also measured.
