Prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnancy and pregnancy outcome

AIM: To study the prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnancy and the pregnancy outcome in those pregnancies. OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of hypothyroidism in pregnancy and pregnancy outcome. DESIGN OF STUDY: A Prospective study. PERIOD OF STUDY: 1 Year. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involves screening 1000 consenting eligible women during first trimester. The normal patients will serve as controls. The patients were classified as euthyroid, hypothyroid and hyperthyroid based on their TSH levels. Those with deranged TSH levels underwent T4 testing and they were further divided in to subclinical and overt hypothyroid patients these patients formed the study group. They were treated and followed up till the completion of their pregnancy. They underwent TSH testing at 16, 20 and 32 weeks their response to treatment and pregnancy outcome was noted and results analysed. CONCLUSION: Inadequately treated hypothyroid women in my study group had 3 fold higher risk of developing preeclampsia.There was a significant increase in the incidence of abortion or fetal growth restriction in the inadequately treated group. There was no case of placental abruption in my study group. Oligohydramnios was found to occur more commonly in the inadequately treated group. Adequate treatment of hypothyroidism in pregnancy significantly reduces certain complications like miscarriages, pre eclampsia, IUGR, oligohydramnios, glucose intolerance, preterm labour, low birth weight babies, abruptio Placentae and stillbirth