Sheehan's syndrome

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Definition

Sheehan's syndrome, also referred to as postpartum hypopituitarism, is a delayed effect of intrapartum or postpartum hemorrhage — life-threatening blood loss during or after childbirth.

Severe blood loss deprives body tissues and organs of oxygen, causing areas of tissue death. In Sheehan's syndrome, this damage affects the pituitary gland — a small, bean-shaped gland at the base of your brain. The result, which may not be apparent for months or even years, is permanent underproduction of pituitary hormones.

Pituitary hormones regulate the rest of the endocrine system, signaling other glands to increase or decrease production of the hormones that control metabolism, fertility, wound healing and many other vital processes. When the regulatory hormones from the pituitary are in short supply, the signs and symptoms may affect almost any part of your body — although they may develop so gradually that they escape notice. Hypopituitarism may seem to cause no symptoms at all. At the other extreme, though, Sheehan's syndrome and other forms of hypopituitarism can cause an adrenal crisis — a sudden, potentially fatal undersupply of the hormone cortisol.

Thanks to improved prenatal care and medically supervised childbirth, Sheehan's syndrome has become rare in parts of the world where access to medical care is available.

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Symptoms