All women of a child bearing age should be tested for thyroid function and auto-immunity before getting pregnant. UK midwives say more evidence is needed of the merits of screening. "Every young women should be sure that her thyroid gland works fine before she gets pregnant."
This topic has ome to light after the results of a study was released led by Dr Eliska Potlukova of Charles University in Prague, followed almost 200 women through early pregnancy and beyond. About half of these had no symptoms of thyroid problems but had tested positive for a marker in the blood that suggests they may be at future risk. About a third of these women went on to develop thyroid problems within two years of birth.
The UK and many other countries recommend screening only high risk women who have a family history of thyroid disease or have suffered thyroid problems in the past.
Sue Jacobs, a midwife teacher at the Royal College of Midwives, said more evidence was needed for the benefits of universal screening. She said: "In the UK we have a comprehensive program of antenatal care from as early as possible in pregnancy.
( this part of the story will reflect that the thyroid can effect a number of ailments including weight, other ailments that can be cured by alternative treatments and hcg)
Under Active Thyroid Gland An under active thyroid can lead to an increased weight gain and upset the whole endocrine system even after conventional treatment.
what is the relationship between BMR and weight?
Differences in BMRs are associated with changes in energy balance.
Energy balance reflects the difference between the amount of calories one eats and the amount of calories the body uses. If a high BMR is induced by the administration of drugs, such as amphetamines, animals often have a negative energy balance which leads to weight loss. Based on such studies many people have concluded that changes in thyroid hormone levels, which lead to changes in BMR, should also cause changes in energy balance and similar changes in body weight.
However, BMRs are not the whole story relating weight and thyroid. For example, when metabolic rates are reduced in animals by various means (for example by decreasing the body temperature), these animals often do not show the expected excess weight gain. Thus, the relationship between metabolic rates, energy balance, and weight changes is very complex.
There are many other hormones (besides thyroid hormone), proteins, and other chemicals that are very important for controlling energy expenditure, food intake, and body weight.
Because all these substances interact on both the brain centers that
regulate energy expenditure and tissues throughout the body that
control energy expenditure and energy intake, we cannot predict the effect of altering only one of these factors (such as thyroid hormone) on body weight as a whole. As a consequence, at this time, we are unable
to predict the effect of changing thyroid state on any individual’s body weight.
