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.
The function of thyroid stimulating hormone (or TSH) is to regulate the normal levels of thyroid hormones in the body. It is a peptide hormone secreted by the thyrotrope cells of anterior pituitary gland. The TSH activates the thyroid gland to produce both Triiodothyronine(T3) and thyroxine (T4) hormones.