If you have new or growing thyroid nodules in pregnancy, your doctor should do a blood test to check your thyroid levels. They should also refer you to a specialist to assess them. This may be an endocrinologist or a thyroid surgeon.

If the ultrasound shows the nodule might be a cancer, you will have a fine needle aspiration. This is a safe procedure to have in pregnancy.

If you are diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy, the outcomes for well-differentiated thyroid cancers (the ones that tend to grow slowly) compared with those diagnosed outside of pregnancy are the same.

What if I need surgery?

You can usually delay surgery for most common thyroid cancers diagnosed in pregnancy until after birth unless the cancer is growing quickly, or if it is pressing on your windpipe and causing problems with breathing. If surgery is required, your obstetric and thyroid teams will plan together the safest time to perform the surgery to minimise risks to your unborn baby, this is often in the 2^nd trimester.

If you have an enlarged thyroid in pregnancy you should be reviewed by an anaesthetist who specialises in looking after pregnant women and they will make a plan on how to look after you if you needed a general anaesthetic in the pregnancy.   

Read the RCOG Green-top guideline on the Management of Thyroid Disorders in Pregnancy