Hypothyroidism and it's Influence on Pregnancy & Fertility

Sluggish...that's a perfect description for how those with hypothyroidism feel. My mom, sisters, brother, aunt, great-grandma and I have hypothyroidism. Our genes are slightly suffering in this in the endocrine area.
Without proper treatment you will most likely feel grouchy, unmotivated and tired all the time. You cannot function without a nap every day. It's a horrible feeling to be tired and drained every day. For my research methods class we researched hypothyroidism and it's influence on pregnancy and fertility. My intent is to spread awareness to empower women by encouraging them to get tested and seek treatment if they feel like they might have hypothyroidism. 

So what does a functioning thyroid do? The thyroid works in a synergistic manner with the master gland--the pituitary gland. The thyroid is responsible for metabolism, helping the body's physiological response to stress and it helps with growth and development. It acts as a negative feedback loop in the body. Meaning, if any of these above things are needed then the pituitary gland (found in the brain) sends a hormone (TSH) to the thyroid gland (found in your neck). The Thyroid is alerted and sends out hormones (T3 and T4) to various organs in the body to get the job done. When completed, it sends a signal to report back to the pituitary gland (as illustrated above).

But when you have hypothyroidism it's like having the pituitary gland banging on the door trying to let the thyroid know that he has work to do--but the thyroid is too sleepy to answer the the door and so nothing gets done. This can lead to various symptoms. See below...

Various studies have been done on how hypothyroidism impacts pregnancy and fertility. These studies found that hypothyroidism does decrease women's fertility rate. Thyroid function plays a crucial role in the fetal brain development. Thyroid problems are difficult to diagnose during pregnancy because a lot of the symptoms are similar to a normal pregnancy (depression, weight gain, constipation, diminished appetite, fatigue, etc.). Even if the mother is on thyroid medication when she's pregnant close monitoring is required to make sure everything goes smoothly.