Читать книгу The Healthy Thyroid: What you can do to prevent and alleviate thyroid imbalance - Patsy Westcott - Страница 24

In the womb and after birth, thyroid hormone is vital for both mental and physical growth. With somatotrophin (STH) from the pituitary, it determines the length and strength of your bones. During childhood, lack of TH stunts growth by preventing the bones from growing and maturing. TH is also crucial for the normal development of the brain and nervous system in both the unborn and newly born infant. During pregnancy, low levels of T₄ can affect brain development, resulting in mild-to-severe mental deficiencies. In the past, the term used to describe these defects was ‘mental cretinism’.