Thyroid gland is an important organ of the endocrine system. It is the butterfly shaped gland located in the front of the neck. Hypothyroidism is when the thyroid gland cannot produce enough thyroid hormone. We also refer this as underactive thyroid.
There are two thyroid hormones in the blood stream:
Thess hormones help in deciding how active your blood cells are. This hormone doesn’t exactly know the amount of hormones to be produced and so it depends on the other gland which is at the bottom of the brain called "pituitary gland."
Pituitary gland's job is to check the amount of hormone present. If the same is not enough then it sends out its own hormone called "thyroid stimulating hormone" or "TSH" to make thyroid gland to produce more thyroid hormones.
People of any age can get hypothyroidism but more likely to get affected are adults and especially women with the age of 60 or more. During pregnancy, untreated hypothyroidism can affect your baby. Do not worry, it is easy to diagnose (by a thorough history and blood tests) and treat hypothyroidism.