Table of Contents
Introduction
During pregnancy, your body requires an increased intake of minerals. Recent research studies suggest that your body would require a 50% increase in iodine intake.
This increased iodine requirement during pregnancy occurs due to the body’s new task of catering to the developmental requirements of both you and your baby. One of the essential minerals you need during your pregnancy is iodine.
Iodine is an essential mineral for pregnant women as it facilitates the production of maternal and fetal thyroid hormones. These thyroid hormones help begin and regulate various maternal and fetal bodily functions. They help regulate heart rate, brain and nervous system development, and metabolism.
This article aims to provide more insight into the importance of iodine in pregnancy for thyroid health and maternal well-being.
What Is Iodine Deficiency?
Iodine deficiency can be critical to your baby’s development during pregnancy. Iodine deficiency can result in significant health and growth impairments for a pregnant mother and her fetus.
Thanks to global awareness of nutrition and modern healthcare advances in maternal health, there have been improvements among pregnant women globally.
According to data from the World Health Organization, there have been improvements in iodine status for pregnant women in Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and the West Pacific. However, there has been somewhat little progress made in African regions.
Hence, expectant mothers residing in Africa or other third-world countries must know the adverse effects of iodine deficiency.
What Can Happen Due to Deficiency of Iodine in Pregnancy?
If you experience severe iodine deficiency during your pregnancy, you are likely to have certain pregnancy-related complications. Some of the significant complications caused by iodine deficiency during pregnancy include:
Miscarriage
Iodine deficiency can cause severe hormonal imbalances, which during pregnancy can result in a high risk of miscarriage, especially during the early stages of pregnancy.
Stillbirth
Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy can result in impaired development of the placenta and other fetal organs. This, in turn, can result in the increased risk of birthing a stillborn child.
Birth Defects
Iodine deficiency can interfere with the development of the fetal nervous system, resulting in various congenital abnormalities mainly associated with the brain and skeletal structure.
Stunted Growth
As stated earlier, iodine enables thyroid hormones to regulate metabolism and growth. Iodine deficiency can result in reduced growth in a fetus. This can cause low birth weight after birth or stunt the baby’s height during its development.
Preterm Delivery
The hormonal imbalances caused by iodine deficiency in a pregnant mother’s thyroid gland and that of her baby have tendencies to induce preterm labor.
Cretinism
Severe deficiency of iodine during pregnancy tends to cause cretinism or congenital hypothyroidism. This can cause the child to develop reduced intellectual abilities, stunted physical growth, and deafness.
Intellectual Disabilities
Iodine is necessary for brain development. Iodine deficiency in pregnant mothers can impair cognitive functions and cause reduced intellect in their children after birth.
Delayed Development
Pregnant mothers suffering from severe iodine deficiency can birth children who eventually develop impaired motor and cognitive development issues.
Benefits of Iodine in Pregnancy
Iodine offers significant benefits during pregnancy. Some of iodine’s primary benefits include:
Regulation of thyroid glands
Iodine is essential for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) are the two thyroid hormones responsible for regulating various physiological processes.
When pregnant, your body’s demand for iodine is increased. This is because your thyroid gland caters to your baby’s physiological needs and developing thyroid system. As such, proper intake of iodine helps prevent hypothyroidism, which is the reduced function of the thyroid gland, which ultimately results in low production of thyroid hormones.
Development of the Baby’s Brain
One of the most essential benefits of iodine is its role in the neurological development of the fetus. During the early and critical stages of pregnancy, iodine helps grow and differentiate brain cells.
As such, it helps promote your child’s intellectual and long-term cognitive abilities. Furthermore, adequate iodine intake also prevents your child from having cognitive delays, lower IQ levels, and cretinism (congenital hypothyroidism).
Regulation of Baby’s Metabolism
Adequate intake of iodine also influences the production of the essential thyroid hormones needed to regulate your baby’s metabolic processes. Energy metabolism, protein synthesis, and growth are the primary metabolic processes regulated by these thyroid hormones.
Adequate intake of iodine during pregnancy also helps develop your baby’s metabolism properly. This reduces the risk of your baby developing any metabolic disorders after birth.
What Are the Symptoms of Low Iodine in Pregnancy?
Some significant symptoms that you may experience due to iodine deficiency in pregnancy include:
- Difficulty in breathing
- Goiter
- Hypothyroidism
- Dry skin
- Losing hair
- Memory loss
- Complications in pregnancy
- Cold intolerance
If you experience these low iodine symptoms during pregnancy, consult your doctor immediately, as your doctor will make the correct diagnosis and begin therapy as required.
Food Sources of Iodine
As a pregnant mother who is now aware of the importance of adequate iodine intake during pregnancy, you should always introduce various sources of iodine-containing foods into your diet. Some of the significant meals known to contain moderate and high levels of iodine include:
- Apple juice
- Dried prunes
- Raisin bran cereal
- Cheddar cheese
- Creamed corn
- Large egg
- Canned light tuna
- Shrimp
- Enriched macaroni
- Enriched bread
- Low-fat milk
- Fish sticks
- Plain low-fat yogurt
- Baked cord
- Whitefish
- Iodized salt
- Oily fish
These natural sources of iodine can make iodine-rich meals and snacks that help you stay nourished during pregnancy.
Iodine-Rich Meals and Snacks
There are types of meals and snacks that are considered to be healthy and iodine-rich. These meals and snacks can help you obtain a balanced diet, allowing you to stay nourished during pregnancy. These iodine-rich meals and snacks include:
- Kedgeree made with white fish and boiled eggs
- Prawn cocktail made with yoghurt
- Jacket potato topped with cottage cheese and sardines
- Salmon and haddock sweet potato fish pie
- Blackberry and raspberry ginger and yogurt pots
Incorporating these meals into your pregnancy dietary plans would boost your iodine levels and allow your thyroid glands to function effectively, further reducing your chances of being iodine deficient.
How Much Iodine Do Pregnant Women Need?
Seeing as iodine intake during pregnancy is of great importance, you should know the amount of iodine you are required to consume per day so as not to become deficient.
However, according to a recent fact sheet published by the National Library of Medicine, pregnant or nursing mothers must have a recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of iodine, which ranges between 220 micrograms (mcg) and 290 mcg per day.
This daily requirement can be accomplished through consuming foods and prenatal vitamins with high iodine contents, using iodized salts to cook or season your meals, and taking certain prescribed iodine supplements.
Can Pregnant Women Take Too Much Iodine?
Yes, pregnant women can take too much iodine, and this can result in harmful health consequences for both pregnant mothers and their babies. The tolerable upper limit (TUL) is the highest amount of a nutrient that can be taken before it becomes toxic. The TUL of iodine differs globally: 1,100 mcg per day is the TUL set by the US Institute of Medicine. The TUL set by the World Health Organization and the European Food Safety Authority was 500 mcg.
Seeing as the safe TUL of iodine during pregnancy isn’t specific, pregnant women are urged to regulate their iodine intake. This is because pregnant women with high iodine levels greater than the TUL can cause their babies to suffer various issues such as:
- Iodine-induced hypothyroidism
- Miscarriage
- Stillbirth
- Growth and development impairment
By observation, you would notice that the complications of iodine deficiency and excessive iodine are somewhat similar. Therefore, you should be careful about your iodine intake during pregnancy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some significant ways to help your thyroid stay healthy during pregnancy include eating well-balanced meals and monitoring the amount of iodine supplements or meals you consume.
Certain symptoms are considered warning signs for a possible thyroid issue. Some of the significant warning signs of thyroid-related health issues during pregnancy include difficulty in breathing, goiter, hypothyroidism, dry skin, hair loss, etc
Taking certain supplements should help boost your iodine levels if you become iodine deficient during pregnancy. Levothyroxine is considered to be the primary medication given to pregnant women who have an underactive thyroid.
