Kornelija Burbaitė¹, Justinas Perminas¹, Kornelija Galinauskaitė¹

¹Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Medical Academy, Faculty of Medicine

Abstract

Thyroid diseases are common disorders that can cause problems getting pregnant. Thyroid dysfunction occurs in 2-3% of pregnancies. Female thyroid dysfunction is particularly important for fetal implantation, development and the condition of the newborn. Thyroid diseases are very important for successful conception and pregnancy. Failure to diagnose thyroid pathology on time can lead to a longer period to get pregnant, also spontaneous miscarriage is possible. The duration of the menstrual cycle and the intensity of the bleeding may be impaired. Also lutein phase disorders, hyperprolactinemia and sex hormone imbalances occur. It is very important to monitor thyroid function during pregnancy and adjust it, if necessary. When hypothyroidism is detected, levothyroxine hormone replacement therapy should be initiated as early as possible to avoid harm to the fetus.  The aim of this study is to review the literature on the connections between thyroid dysfunction and pregnancy and also the main aspects of how to manage and treat the problem. For literature sources we were searched in computer bibliographic databases: PubMed, Science Direct, Medline and Cochrane Library. The search was performed using keywords and their combinations: pregnancy, endocrine disease, thyroid dysfunction, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, infertility. More than 20 publications on this topic have been reviewed.

Key words: thyroid hormones, pregnancy, infertility.