Glossary

Term · Pregnancy: Eating

iodine

Also: dietary iodine, iodized salt mineral

A mineral the thyroid gland needs to make its hormones. Pregnancy raises the amount needed, and it is found in iodized salt, dairy, seafood, and eggs.

In plain words

Iodine is a mineral. Your thyroid gland uses it to make thyroid hormones. Those hormones set the pace of the body's metabolism, and they matter for a baby's brain development. In early pregnancy, the baby depends on the mother's thyroid hormones. Pregnancy increases how much iodine the body needs. Common food sources include iodized salt, dairy, seafood, and eggs. Some prenatal vitamins contain iodine and some do not. The World Health Organization calls iodine deficiency the leading preventable cause of brain damage in children worldwide, which is why guidelines set a higher target for pregnancy. Too much iodine can also affect the thyroid, so the aim is .

The deeper version

Iodine is incorporated into thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) by thyroid peroxidase. In pregnancy, renal iodine clearance rises and maternal thyroid hormone demand increases, and the fetus depends on maternal T4 until its own thyroid begins to function in the second trimester. Population iodine status is assessed by urinary iodine concentration; a median below 150 micrograms per liter in pregnant women is classed as insufficient (WHO, UNICEF, and ICCIDD, 2007). The American Thyroid Association guideline on thyroid disease in pregnancy (Alexander et al., 2017) addresses iodine intake and . The main controversy is whether routine supplementation is needed in countries where salt is iodized, a question on which guidance has shifted over time.

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Sources

  • World Health Organization, UNICEF, ICCIDD — Assessment of Iodine Deficiency Disorders and Monitoring Their Elimination, 3rd edition, 2007
  • Alexander EK et al. — Guidelines of the American Thyroid Association for the Diagnosis and Management of Thyroid Disease During Pregnancy and the Postpartum, 2017

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