Thyroid & Fertility

Worried? Will thyroid impact your fertility or not? We normally not consider thyroid as an obstruction in conceiving. But the consideration and solution of thyroid is more important than we think especially when we trying to conceive, because it is an important gland for conceiving a baby.

Working of Thyroid

Being only responsible gland for the metabolism regulation in the body, thyroid is also responsible to control blood calcium levels, balancing hormones, weight maintenance, oxygen utilization and energy production. Located below the voice box and in the neck’s lower part, the healthy function of this gland can be affected by high level of stress, infections, genetic susceptibility, exposure to some environmental toxins like chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides and electromagnetic radiation etc.

Having a thyroid problem means you may have some significant symptoms associated with fertility. Some of the thyroid symptoms related to female fertility only are Amenorrhea (absent periods), loss of libido and postpartum thyroiditis. And the symptoms related to male infertility are feminization, loss of libido and abnormal enlargement of the mammary glands in males.

Hyperthyroidism is the condition when thyroid gland is unable to produce enough hormones or sometimes leads to overproduction of hormones, commonly happens due to the deficiency of iodine. The disease more often happens in women than men. Poorly treated or left untreated hypothyroidism may cause serious complications in conceiving the child.

Postpartum hemorrhage, placental abruption, anemia and miscarriage are some common complications occurs in mother and birth defects, preterm birth, low birth weight and thyroid problems are complications occur in the baby.

Ways to treat thyroid problems naturally

Preconception planning before 30 days is necessary to have healthy pregnancy for women as well as baby. If you are neglecting your thyroid issue, remember you are going to affect your baby’s growth and his development of his brain as well.

Eat iodine rich food. Nutritional deficiency and poor diet is the main reason of thyroid problems. As thyroid is very sensitive to environmental toxins, prefer organic foods and get a balanced amount of iodine in the diet. Iodine rich foods that you can add in your diet are navy beans, strawberries, whole fat yogurt, raw cranberry, raw dairy products and potatoes.

To support your thyroid, you can take supplements of vitamins, herbs and minerals. Zinc, Vitamin B and Vitamin C, Copper and Selenium are some essential nutrients for the formation of thyroid hormones. Add them in your diet and keep yourself away from thyroid problems.

If you have not been already tested for a thyroid problem, take a look on some things that you should do. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) is the first test that you should perform in addition with thyroid levels testing like Free T4 and T3. Once you have your TSH tested, have thyroid antibodies tested because according to studies, level of antibodies can affect female and male fertility.