However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), here are some risk factors that are known to increase the risk of a NTD: 1  A previous NTD-affected pregnancy makes it approximately 20x more likely that a woman will have another NTD-affected pregnancy. 2  Maternal insulin-dependent diabetes.
High levels of TSH in the blood stream typically signal that the thyroid is underperforming. TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone is a hormone produced in the anterior pituitary gland. This is used to help stimulate the thyroid to produce triiodothyronine (T3) or thyroxine (T4), hormones that help stimulate the metabolism.
TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone. Itâs produced by your pituitary gland, which sends the hormone to your thyroid as a way of telling the thyroid to produce more thyroid hormone. That is, TSH is not a thyroid hormone. Instead, itâs the hormone that kicks your thyroid into action.