Perinatal outcome in subclinical hypothroid pregnancies

ABSTRACT

To relate hypothyroidism to perinatal outcome, a 23 hypothyroid patients with no other medical illnesses was divided into two groups according to the initial thyroid function tests. The purpose of the study was to report the pregnancy outcomes of gestational hypertension, low birth weight, fetal death, congenital anomalies, maternal anemia, and postpartum hemorrhage. Gestational hypertension, namely, eclampsia, preeclampsia, and pregnancy induced hypertension was significantly more common in subclinical hypothyroid patients than in the general population with rates of 22, 15 and 7.6%, respectively. In addition, 25% of the subclinical hypothyroid subjects who remained hypothyroid at delivery developed gestational hypertension. Low birth weight in subclinical hypothyroid patients was secondary to premature delivery for gestational hypertension. Except for one stillbirth and one case of clubfeet, hypothyroidism was not associated with adverse fetal and neonatal outcomes. Normalization of thyroid function tests may prevent gestational hypertension and its attendant complications in hypothyroid patients