Treatment with thyroid hormones should be given consistently during pregnancy and breastfeeding in particular. Dosage requirements may even increase during pregnancy. Since elevations in serum TSH may occur as early as 4 weeks of gestation, pregnant women taking levothyroxine should have their TSH measured during each trimester, in order to confirm that maternal serum TSH values lie within the trimester-specific pregnancy reference range. An elevated serum TSH level should be corrected by an increase in the dose of levothyroxine.
Since postpartum TSH levels are similar to preconception values, the levothyroxine dosage should return to the pre-pregnancy dose immediately after delivery. A serum TSH level should be obtained 6-8 weeks postpartum.
Lactation: Levothyroxine is secreted into breast milk during lactation but the concentrations achieve at the recommended therapeutic dose level are not sufficient to cause development of hyperthyroidism or suppression of TSH secretion in the infant.
Other Services
Country
Account