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Thyroid disease and pregnancy: an overactive or underactive thyroid, the medicines, and after the baby
For anyone pregnant, or hoping to be, with a thyroid problem, anyone who had Graves’ disease or Hashimoto’s disease, and anyone whose moods, sleep or heartbeat changed after a baby was born. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says that with thyroid problems you can still have a healthy pregnancy and protect your baby’s health, with regular thyroid tests and the medicines your doctor prescribes. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: why the thyroid matters for the baby, and the signs; an overactive thyroid and Graves’ disease, and the medicines used in pregnancy; an underactive thyroid and levothyroxine; and after the baby: postpartum thyroiditis, breastfeeding, and iodine. It builds the words to say and the questions to ask, and prints a card to keep with you.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or a seizure? Call 911 (ours). Something feels wrong with the pregnancy? Call your doctor or midwife now (ours).
- On an antithyroid medicine, with yellow skin or eyes, a dull belly pain, a sore throat that will not go away, or a fever? NIDDK says stop the medicine and call your doctor right away; if you do not hear back the same day, go to the nearest emergency room.
- Just found out you are pregnant, and you take levothyroxine? NIDDK says contact your doctor as soon as you know: you will probably need a higher dose.
- Worn down, or thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- The thyroid, on this site: Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) · Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) · Getting ready for thyroid tests · Heart, blood and hormones: find the right page.
- The pregnancy: Pregnant, or with a new baby · Morning sickness · Gestational diabetes · High blood pressure.
- After the baby: Postpartum depression · Breastfeeding help.
- Getting ready: My medicines list · Get ready for your appointment · Rides to medical care · When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Your heart, blood pressure, blood sugar, thyroid or blood, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for a heart attack or stroke, blood pressure, AFib, heart failure, cholesterol, diabetes and prediabetes, the thyroid, anemia, sickle cell and menopause, on one list.
Other guides on this site that go with this page
Free to read. We chose these ourselves; no professional did. Each guide was written with AI and has not been reviewed by a professional. They are general information, not advice.
- When you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, the programs that help, and buying online safely: when you can’t afford your medicine: what to ask, generics, assistance programs, Medicare’s Extra Help, a plan that says no, and safe online pharmacies.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor, nurse or midwife has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 18, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Thyroid Disease & Pregnancy (last reviewed December 2017), in English and in Spanish. That page is not new, and your team may know newer advice. The numbers (the first 3 months; around 12 weeks; 18 to 20 weeks; 1 to 4 of every 1,000 pregnancies; 2 to 3 of every 100; every 4 to 6 weeks, and once after 30 weeks; about 1 in 20; up to 3 months; up to a year; about 250 micrograms of iodine a day; 150 micrograms in a prenatal vitamin) are NIDDK’s. Ours: 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting or a seizure; calling your doctor or midwife now if something feels wrong with the pregnancy; telling your team about any thyroid problem you have had; never stopping or changing a prescribed medicine on your own, apart from NIDDK’s stop-and-call list; the after-hours number on your card; 988 and the maternal mental health line; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the brand NIDDK names, the dose changes and the breastfeeding dose limits NIDDK gives (only your doctor can set your dose), the references, the clinical-trials section, and NIDDK’s outside links. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.