Mums-to-be who have pre-eclampsia have been found to have a higher risk of having an under-active thyroid, US and Norwegian researchers have said.
The researchers say pregnant women with signs or pre-eclampsia need thyroid checks as well as heart and kidney checks, reports the BBC.
The researchers think the link may be that pre-eclampsia leads to a rise in a certain protein in a mum-to-be’s blood, limiting blood supply to the thyroid tissue.
If your thyroid gland is under-active it can lead to hypothyroidism. The symptoms include fatigue, depression, weakness, weight gain, lower libido, constipation, fluid retention, muscle cramps and poor muscle tone.
The good news? Dr Susan Shurin, acting director of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), said, “Reduced thyroid functioning is easy to diagnose when suspected, and inexpensive to treat.”
