Hypothyroidism Increases the Risk of Miscarriage

Second Trimester Miscarriage Risk is Higher When Hypothyroidism is Undiagnosed

Based on findings from a report in the Journal of Medical Screening, doctors are claiming that miscarrriages could be reduced if screening for thyroid problems were a standard part of prenatal testing.

The research, which was conducted by scientists at the Foundation for Blood Research in Scarborough, Maine, demonstrated that pregnant women who are hypothyroid have a second trimester miscarriage risk that is four times the risk of other women.

In the Journal of Medical Screening, the researchers reported that in a study of 9,000 pregnant women, those pregnant women with elevated TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels had a 3.8 percent risk of late miscarriage, compared to only 0.9 percent miscarriage risk in women who were not hypothyroid.

The study attributed six out of every 100 late miscarriages to an undiagnosed hypothyroid condition in the mother.

Source: http://thyroid.about.com/cs/pregnancy/a/miscarriage.htm

UMDNJ doctor ties premature births to moms' thyroid abnormalities

Researchers trying to chip away at the slow but intractable rise in premature births have been stymied again and again, but now say some of the mystery may rest with the thyroid function of pregnant women.

A Newark researcher says small but intriguing studies suggest the thyroid plays a larger role in pregnancy complications than previously thought.

"These theories have been progressing over the last 16 years," said Alex Stagnaro-Green, an endocrinologist at the UMDNJ -- New Jersey Medical School and one of the early researchers looking at thyroid and pregnancy. "Now we have more and more evidence supporting it."

Full article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1168926459273850.xml&coll=1