Postpartum Thyroiditis: What It Is, How It Feels, and What to Do
Postpartum thyroiditis is a common but often missed thyroid disorder after childbirth. Learn the signs, how it differs from depression, and what tests and treatments actually work.
Postpartum Thyroiditis: Causes, Symptoms, and What to Do Next
When your body changes after giving birth, it’s normal to feel tired, moody, or overwhelmed. But if you’re crashing harder than usual—exhausted even after sleep, gaining weight without reason, or suddenly feeling jittery and heart-racing—you might be dealing with postpartum thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid gland that occurs after childbirth, often mimicking depression or burnout. It’s not rare, and it’s not all in your head. About 1 in 5 women experience this, yet most doctors don’t screen for it unless symptoms are extreme. That means many moms suffer for months before anyone checks their thyroid levels.
Thyroid function after pregnancy, the way your thyroid hormone levels shift in the first year after delivery can swing wildly. In the first few months, your immune system, still adjusting after pregnancy, sometimes attacks your thyroid by accident. This causes a temporary spike in hormones (hyperthyroidism postpartum, a phase where the thyroid leaks too much hormone, causing anxiety, rapid heartbeat, and weight loss), followed by a crash into low hormone levels (hypothyroidism after birth, a phase where the thyroid can’t keep up, leading to fatigue, depression, hair loss, and cold intolerance). Some women only get one phase. Others go through both—sometimes within weeks of each other.
What makes this tricky is that the symptoms look just like normal new mom struggles. You’re tired? Of course you are. You’re crying for no reason? That’s hormones. But if your exhaustion doesn’t lift, your hair keeps falling out, or you can’t lose baby weight no matter what you do, it’s worth asking for a TSH and free T4 blood test. Many women get misdiagnosed with postpartum depression when it’s actually their thyroid. And treating depression with therapy or meds won’t fix a thyroid that’s not working.
The good news? Most cases resolve on their own within 12 to 18 months. But during that time, you need to know what’s happening so you don’t spiral into burnout or miss treatment if you need it. Some women need short-term thyroid hormone replacement. Others just need monitoring. Either way, you deserve to feel like yourself again—not just survive the newborn stage, but actually recover.
Below, you’ll find real, practical advice from women who’ve been through this—how to track symptoms, what tests to ask for, how to talk to your doctor when they brush you off, and how to tell the difference between normal postpartum fatigue and something that needs medical attention. This isn’t theoretical. These are the stories and tools that helped real moms get their energy, mood, and health back.
