Published online Feb 10, 2016. doi: 10.5317/wjog.v5.i1.66
Peer-review started: July 14, 2015
First decision: September 22, 2015
Revised: December 1, 2015
Accepted: December 18, 2015
Article in press: December 21, 2015
Published online: February 10, 2016
Processing time: 206 Days and 15.2 Hours
Malfunction of the thyroid gland is the second most common endocrine disorder encountered during pregnancy. It is well known that overt disease of the thyroid gland, either hyper or hypo can adversely affect pregnancy outcome. There is also an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of subclinical hypothyroidism and its effect on the cognitive development of the unborn child. The goal of this paper is to present a systematic review of the literature and the current recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease in pregnancy and postpartum.
Core tip: Uncontrolled thyroid disease in pregnancy is associated with significant morbidity and mortality for both mother and fetus. Timely diagnosis and adequate treatment ameliorates the risk of complications. Treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism in pregnancy with the goal of improving the cognitive outcome for the fetus has not been shown to be useful and is not currently recommended.