A group of scientists led by Dr. Jubbin Jagan of the Christian Medical College in Punjab found that even slight deviations in the functioning of the thyroid gland during pregnancy can provoke the most serious complications of its course. Doctors say that the consequences can be so serious that every pregnant woman should be screened for thyroid dysfunction in the first couple of weeks.

If such dysfunctions are detected, then the first trimester of its course should take place under the supervision of a doctor. The thyroid gland, located in the neck, produces hormones that help process food into energy. Excessively low levels of hormones (or hypothyroidism) are accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, excessive sensitivity to low temperature, constipation, and depression.

During pregnancy, hypothyroidism becomes a threat to the fetus. Deviations in the thyroid gland increase the risk of early spontaneous abortion (miscarriage), stillbirth, low birth weight babies. Even if the deviations are moderate and hypothyroidism is not diagnosed, according to the observations of doctors from the Punjabi clinic, the number of miscarriages doubles up to the 20th week, seven times higher than cases of premature births and ten times lower weight at birth.

If an examination of the thyroid gland revealed abnormalities, then its condition can be effectively controlled with the help of special hormonal preparations containing thyrotropic hormone. Researchers say that out of 1000 women, 263 were diagnosed with small abnormalities in the thyroid gland, which the pregnant women were not even aware of, since there were no pronounced symptoms. Therefore, doctors advise every woman in the first trimester to undergo an examination, because the health of the future baby directly depends on this.