Incidence of thyroid dysfunction in an unselected postpartum population

We screened 212 patients four to 12 weeks post partum for thyroid function: four patients (1.9%) had evidence of thyroid dysfunction; six patients (2.8%) had elevated antimicrosomal antibody titers. These incidences are significantly lower than those previously reported. We also determined normal data for thyroid function for patients four to eight weeks post partum. While serum thyroxine-binding capacity appeared to have returned to the normal range by four to eight weeks post partum, it was still higher than in normal controls.