Pregnancy Outcomes in Patients with Hypothyroidism

Background Pregnancy is an important event in reproductive years of women life. It has a reversible effect on the thyroid gland and its functions. The role of thyroid gland function and conception has been known for a long time. The most common thyroid gland dysfunction in pregnancy is hypothyroidism. It is estimated that the prevalence is 1.5-4.4% of pregnant women. It is known to cause complications during pregnancy leading to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Objective To observe the pregnancy outcomes in patients with hypothyroidism. Method This is a retrospective study conducted from January 2015 to December 2018. Two hundred and thirty nine patients with hypothyroidism were included. They were investigated for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free tri iodothyronin (FT ), free thyroxine (FT ) levels and for auto-antibodies against thyroperoxidase (anti TPO). All these patients after the detection of hypothyroidism were under thyroxine hormone replacement. Result Amongst 239 ladies with hypothyroidism 97.5% came from hilly region. Seventy seven (32%)of them had history of abortions. Twenty three (9.8%) of them had antepartum hemorrhage. Eleven (4.6%) had preeclampsia during this pregnancy. Seven (2.9%) had fetuses with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Seven (2.9%) had fetuses with preterm delivery. Twenty seven (11.3%) of fetuses had APGAR Score of < 6. Conclusion Of 239 women with hypothyroidism, many had history of recurrent abortions and also complications during antenatal period like preeclampsia, abruption placenta, IUGR and preterm delivery. After thyroxine replacement, risk is much lowered and it has a positive outcome.