Today, with the advent of newer treatments in oncology, the presence of even thyroid cancer is not considered fatal. Having identified it in time, a young woman can cure him successfully, and then plan a pregnancy and successfully give birth to children. Today, such examples are already enough, and babies are born quite healthy. However, in the gestation of the fetus after cancer therapy has its own features, which you need to know.
When it’s all over: thyroid cancer is defeated
First of all, pregnancy should be planned in the period when the body is completely cured of thyroid cancer, and the doctors were convinced that there was no recurrence. Due to the use of modern methods of therapy, as well as supporting treatment in the future, successful pregnancy after the total removal of the thyroid gland is quite possible today.
If in the first months of pregnancy there was a recurrence of cancer, then the question of its further carrying out is decided individually, whether it is worth interrupting or it is possible to endure a baby. The only exception is the total removal of the thyroid gland in the previous treatment cycle.
If thyroid cancer was completely eliminated, there was not a single relapse over a long period, and finally the desired pregnancy occurred, the expectant mother will still have to regularly visit the oncologist and perform tests for the presence of cancer cells, as well as periodically perform an ultrasound scan. thyroid tissue .
Features of the treatment and the period after it
When oncology is always detected, the question arises of how the treatment is carried out and during what period. If this is the use of radioactive iodine, it is prohibited during pregnancy, and it is set aside for a period after the woman gives birth and successfully breastfeeds the baby. If the situation requires treatment in the near future, then only a baby is expected to be born, and then breastfeeding is canceled for the sake of treatment. But if the treatment was carried out, can I then breastfeed? If an operation was performed in which a thyroid cancer or an entire organ was removed, there are no contraindications for breastfeeding after recovery. Regarding treatment with radioactive iodine, it is becoming more and more difficult, you have to wait a certain period of time (until the drug is fully developed), for which breast milk can simply disappear. If a woman succeeds in keeping lactation in such harsh conditions, she can later put the baby on her breast and feed her.
Bearing and development of the baby, if the thyroid gland is removed
In modern conditions, even if the total removal of the whole organ was carried out, the bearing and birth of a healthy baby are quite possible. Planning a pregnancy should be no earlier than 12 months from the moment of the operation, when the cycle of rehabilitation measures has been completed and an adequate dose of hormones for replacement therapy has been selected. If the pregnancy has occurred under all these conditions, it can be prolonged if you regularly monitor the level of hormones in the blood plasma. Then doctors will be able to notice abnormalities in time and correct them due to medical effects.
It is important to pay attention to the fact that the baby can suffer from hormone deficiency, if the thyroid gland has been completely removed. Lack of hormones leads to the threat of interruption, miscarriage, as well as severe brain defects and his own thyroid gland, from which the baby will suffer after birth. Therefore, pregnancy in such conditions involves the constant use of thyroid hormones in a strictly selected dosage, taking into account the physiological changes that occur in pregnancy. These hormones are completely identical to the natural, produced by the gland itself, and they have similar effects in the body.
Questions that may arise in a woman
Naturally, if a young woman suffered cancer of the thyroid gland, and then also a rather difficult treatment for her, she will have fears and concerns regarding the further realization of her reproductive function. And inevitably questions arise regarding the planning of pregnancy and its course. First of all, the treatment of cancer with the right choice, will not lead to a violation of the reproductive abilities of a woman. After treatment, when the cancer is defeated, she can become pregnant, and give birth, and breastfeed.
The main question is, if the thyroid gland was operated, when can you plan a pregnancy? Doctors say that if radioactive iodine treatment is not required, pregnancy planning is acceptable even 8-10 weeks after the operation was performed (if it is papillary carcinoma).
Also, a woman is concerned about the question whether artificial hormones will harm the baby during pregnancy? Doctors unequivocally assert that these substances are absolutely identical to natural and will not harm the development of the baby. Moreover, it may harm the hormone deficiency, if the mother will refuse to take drugs or will often miss taking pills.
If the mother forgot to take the drug, it is not critical, if you do not do this too often, therefore, if the woman forgot about the drug, and a couple of hours passed, you can take the usual dosage. If it happened a long time ago, the next day you need to take your usual dose and then try not to miss the drug.
If there was a radioactive iodine treatment, and pregnancy came, will the baby suffer? The answer to this question is not simple, if more than half a year has passed since the treatment, then there is no danger anymore, you can safely bear pregnancy, but if the treatment is completed recently, then the question will be difficult and the doctor and patient will decide it together. Known fact of the penetration of radioactive iodine through the placenta and its effect on the baby. Therefore, everything here depends on the time when the treatment was carried out.