Planning for pregnancy? Check out your thyroid and hormone's health before trying

Several pregnancy-related health concerns could arise during critical pregnancy, related to the mother's well-being, the child's, or both. Some women have health problems that arise during pregnancy, while others may struggle because of problems with their health that existed before conception. 

To reduce the risk of pregnancy difficulties, it is crucial for women to obtain medical attention and have their hormone levels properly monitored before and during pregnancy. Before, during, and after pregnancy, each of the numerous hormones listed below performs a specific function:

Hypothyroidism can occur during pregnancy and is characterised by an underactive thyroid gland. For instance, both have symptoms of exhaustion, weight gain, and irregular menstruation. The mother provides thyroid hormones to the foetus during the first few months of pregnancy. The regular growth and development of the foetus’s brain depend on thyroid hormones. The foetus may experience long-lasting repercussions from the mother's hypothyroidism. Your baby depends on your supply of thyroid hormone during the first trimester, which lasts the first three months of pregnancy. Thyroid hormone is delivered through the placenta. pregnancy-related hyperthyroidism that is not treated can result in:

• Preeclampsia
• a risky increase in blood pressure in late pregnancy
• thyroid storm
• low birth weight
• miscarriage
• early birth
• congestive heart failure.

If you have moderate hyperthyroidism while pregnant, therapy is usually not necessary. Antithyroid medications, which decrease the amount of thyroid hormone your thyroid produces, may be prescribed by your doctor if your hyperthyroidism is more severe. 

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1. Estrogen

The primary female hormone that affects sexual development is oestrogen, which also serves as one of the two primary hormones that initiate pregnancy. It starts the development of the baby's organs. And when it's time to breastfeed, oestrogen encourages breast tissue growth and facilitates milk production. The body's oestrogen levels can alter a woman's degree of fertility if they are too high or too low. Other side effects of oestrogen dysfunction include hot flashes, atherosclerosis, rapid heartbeat, bloating, low back pain, arthritis, thinning hair, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, and mood swings.

1. Progesterone

Soon after ovulation, this vital hormone gets to work by preparing the uterine lining for the implantation of a fertilised egg. Heartburn, indigestion, constipation, and bloating are just a few of the GI issues that progesterone and the hormone relaxing can bring on.

progesterone helps to loosen your joints, soften your ligaments and cartilage, and prepare you for delivery. Additionally, this chemical is to blame if you experience skin eruptions, swollen and bleeding gums, or excessive sweating.

1. Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)

A hormone that stands out is human chorionic gonadotropin, which is often only generated during pregnancy. The synthesis of progesterone and oestrogen is increased by this hormone. If your hCG levels are below the normal range, it does not always cause concern. With low hCG levels, many women have gone on to give birth to healthy babies. Most women never have a reason to particularly check their hCG levels.

1. Relaxin

This hormone is essential to a woman's ability to reproduce. After ovulation, relaxing levels increase, which aids in preparing the uterine wall for pregnancy. Later in pregnancy, to ease into labour, it helps to relax the pelvic muscles, bones, ligaments, and joints.

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Hormones are still running through your body even after giving birth. For instance, while progesterone and oestrogen levels decline as soon as your baby is born, oxytocin, also known as the "mothering hormone," increases. Prolactin is a crucial hormone after childbirth as well since it promotes breast milk production. They must thus function properly. 

• Bangalore
• Consultant - Obstetrician & Gynaecologist
• Dr. Sangeeta
• Motherhood Hospitals
• Sarjapur
• hormone
• pregnancy
• thyroid