Pregnant women urged to take iodine

[AussieSim]

By Miranda Wood
December 5, 2004
The Sun-Herald

Pregnant women will be instructed to boost their intake of iodine to reduce the risk of miscarriage and foetal abnormalities.

The Royal Australasian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists will recommend early next year that women consume more iodine when planning to have a baby or as soon they become pregnant.

Iodine deficiency can damage the developing brain of a foetus and lower a child's IQ by 10 to 15 points.

The World Health Organisation, which recognises iodine deficiency as the world's most common cause of brain damage, will also meet in January to discuss the poor intake of iodine.

Australian Centre for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders chairman Professor Creswell Eastman said Australia's consumption of iodine was very low and had created a significant health problem.

"It's a serious concern, particularly for pregnant women and lactating women," he said.

"They should be supplementing their diet with iodine."

Professor Eastman, who wrote the new guidelines for the college, said women wanting children were always told they should add folate to their diet but iodine, an essential nutrient, was equally as important.

Expectant mother Poppy Galouzis, 27, of Greystanes, said she had increased her iodine intake during her second pregnancy by eating more seafood and homegrown vegetables and taking daily supplements.

"I have also changed to using iodised salt in my cooking," she said.

"I feel a lot healthier and I've got a lot more energy," she said.

Ms Galouzis suffers from thyroid disease, a condition which can be caused by a lack of iodine and affects one in 14 Australian women.

Thyroid disease occurs when the thyroid gland becomes deficient in the production of thyroxine, an important hormone which controls metabolism.

It also controls the growth of the brain in the foetus and the height of children.

I walked straight into a chemist and asked about an iodine supplement. They had heard about the article but there are no details about the recommended dosage yet. I'm going to try to do a bit more digging, but it seems pretty irresponsible to just mention the recommendation will be made next year and give no details.

Has anyone taken an iodine supplement during pregnancy? I was thinking that taking my fish oil tablets (which I am not that keen on) might do the job.

[muminlondon]

Unless you're a vegan or on a special diet be careful because excessive amounts also cause thyroid problems.

If you're eating dairy, meat, fish, cereals, vegetables, etc. it should be fine, and otherwise it's often found in multi-vitamins. I think levels can differ from country to country depending on the levels found in the soil and in milk and whether or not table salt is iodized.

[aloha]

There is iodine in many multivitamins. It's in my pregnacare and also in the A-Z with probiotics I alternate it with. So I've been taking a daily supplement all through pregnancy.

[aloha]

Multibionta! That's what it's called.

[berolina]

When I had my m/c and indicated I would be trying again my doctor (here in Germany) prescribed me a combined folic acid and iodine supplement called Folio. It's got 400 micrograms folic acid and 200 mcg iodine in it. It says on the packet (I just checked) that it's for 'women trying to conceive, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers'. At 15wks I'm still taking it because he didn't tell me to stop it at 12wks.
Muminlondon, what's an 'excessive amount'? I assume an amount like this is fine? I'm veggie but eat eggs and dairy.

[muminlondon]

From what I've read a total 150-200 micrograms per day in the whole diet is enough for an adult, so that may be higher than necessary, but everyone metabolises it differently. It seems that more than 400-500 micrograms a day is high (i.e. in total). A google search came up with a vegan website that seemed useful - see \link{http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/iodine.php\here} and another site \link{http://www.people.virginia.edu/~jtd/iccidd/aboutidd.htm\here}. Countries where iodine deficiency is a problem are in central Asia and Africa.

But also, hypothyroidism in babies in developed countries is rarely to do with the mother's diet - this article is quite misleading and possibly alarmist.