Postpartum thyroiditis is a term for a woman whose thyroid changes function
after delivery, unless another diagnosis is given, ie graves disease,
multinodular goiter, etc... My experience has been that these women develop
hyperthyroidism, and then within 1-2 months will crash and become
hypothyroid.  Sometimes their anti-thyroid antibodies are positive
(implying autoimmune thyroiditis, or hashimotos). I have found that these
women need to be followed very closely in terms of thyroid function
testing.  This information is given to you without doing any research, but
by my experience thus far.  Also, postpartum is a time that it is common to
first diagnose hypothyroidism. Hope this helps.


                                Anne Eglash, MD