Check your vitamins for iodine – you need it!
February 26, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Women's Health
There’s so much to think about when you’re pregnant in terms of staying healthy and providing the best possible conditions for your child to grow and thrive before birth. Luckily, we can address many of these issues with our knowledge of how the body works and what we can do to improve our health and minimize risks.
One of the important findings that plays a large role in maternal and baby health is taking maternal or prenatal vitamins. The vitamins and minerals ensure that both you and the baby are getting adequate amounts, cutting down on the risk of disorders, such as spina bifida. However, researchers have found that your prenatal vitamins may be lacking something very important: iodine.
According to a study published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, almost half of prenatal vitamins available in the United States contain iodine, a substance that is essential for your thyroid and for the development of the baby’s thyroid. In the post Smoking during pregnancy may affect two thyroids, I wrote:
Your thyroid is a small gland in your neck, by what’s often called the Adam’s apple. It produces hormones essential for growth. For pregnant women, the thyroid hormone is needed – is critical for – the baby’s developing brain and nervous system. Iodine, which we take in through some foods and iodized salt, is what helps the thyroid produce the thyroid hormone. Pregnant women are encouraged to take maternal vitamins because they include iodine, which many women are lacking in their regular diet.
Vitamins don’t have to contain iodine, but I think that many of us just assume that prenatal vitamins will contain everything we need. This type of information lets us know that we shouldn’t be taking anything for granted and to be sure to either check the labels or ask the pharmacist for recommendations.
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Tags: pregnancy blog, thyroid function, iodine, prenatal vitamins, maternal vitamins
our thyroid is a small gland in your neck, by what’s often called the Adam’s apple. It produces hormones essential for growth. For pregnant women, the thyroid hormone is needed – is critical for – the baby’s developing brain and nervous system. Iodine, which we take in through some foods and iodized salt, is what helps the thyroid produce the thyroid hormone. Pregnant women are encouraged to take maternal vitamins because they include iodine, which many women are lacking in their regular diet.
