Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that produces thyroid hormones. The thyroid controls how the body makes and uses energy, so it’s no surprise that things don’t feel right when your thyroid makes too many hormones or not enough of them.
Postpartum thyroiditis is a thyroid gland inflammation that happens within a year of giving birth. About five percent of mothers experience some form of postpartum thyroid condition.
How does postpartum thyroiditis happen?
In some cases, inflammation at first causes your thyroid to overproduce hormones (hyperthyroidism) and then later on produce too few hormones (hypothyroidism). In other cases, you may experience just one temporary form of thyroid dysfunction (either hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism).
Either way, postpartum thyroiditis typically goes away within 12 to 18 months. Thyroid activity then returns to normal in 4 out of 5 people.
Symptoms of an overactive or underactive thyroid
Postpartum thyroiditis may not cause symptoms until a few months after delivering your baby. Those symptoms are often confused with the everyday stresses of adjusting to life with a newborn. They can also vary greatly from person to person and change over time.
Symptoms of an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), which speeds up your metabolism, can include:
- Feeling hot and sweaty
- Nervousness, anxiety, and irritability
- Heart palpitations and/or a rapid heartbeat
- Muscle weakness
- Loss of focus
- Weight loss
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
Symptoms of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), which slows down your metabolism, can include:
- Feeling very cold
- Extreme fatigue
- Memory loss
- Muscle cramps
- Exercise intolerance
- Constipation
- Weight gain
- Depression
- Dry skin
Diagnosis, treatment, and future risks
If you think you may have postpartum thyroiditis, make an appointment with your healthcare provider.
A blood test measures your thyroid hormone levels and determines if your thyroid is overactive or underactive. You may need to repeat this test over time to monitor your levels and see if you’ve moved into a different phase—or to confirm if your levels have returned to normal.
Treating thyroiditis depends on your symptoms and whether your thyroid is overactive or underactive. If your symptoms are mild, you may not need treatment. If your symptoms are problematic, however, your healthcare provider may prescribe:
- Beta-blockers for overactive thyroid. These slow your heart rate and ease symptoms.
- Thyroid hormone replacement if your thyroid is underactive. These will help to boost your hormone levels.
Keep in mind that even if your postpartum thyroiditis resolves, there’s a 42% chance that it may happen again if you have more children. Note that other risk factors that can affect your thyroid health in general include having or more of the following:
- Type 1 diabetes
- An autoimmune disorder
- Anti-thyroid antibodies
- A personal or family history of thyroid issues.
For more information on the thyroid, check out this article.
Reviewed by the Ovia Clinical Team
Sources:
- Rad SN and Deluxe L. Postpartum Thyroiditis. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557646/. Accessed August 1, 2024.
- Johns Hopkins Medicine. Postpartum Thyroiditis. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/postpartum-thyroiditis. Accessed August 1, 2024.
