Mothers’ Iodine Deficiency can Cause Brain Deformities in Children: Study

Intake of iodine supplements during pregnancy can aid brain development in children, according to a study.

Many pregnant women suffer from severe nutrition and vitamin deficiencies that can stunt growth of the fetus and cause birth defects like cleft lip and palate, low birth weight, heart and brain deformities. Recently, experts from the American Pediatric Association found expectant mothers rarely take adequate amount of Iodine in their diet.

Iodine helps stimulate the production of thyroid hormones that help improve brain development and functioning before and after birth in children. The agency issued a statement advising pregnant and breastfeeding women to daily consume about 290 to 1,100 micrograms of iodine. But, it was found that only 15 percent of the women follow the guidelines, suggests the data by the Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health.

"Women who are childbearing age need to pay attention to this topic as well, because about half of the pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned," said Jerome Paulson, chairperson of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health and pediatrician at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C, reports Reuters News.

"Women in the early part of the pregnancy may not realize they're pregnant."

The new guidelines recommend a daily minimum intake of supplements having 150 micrograms of iodide and urge women to make use of iodide salts for cooking. Furthermore, the health experts added iodine can protect baby's brain against the hazardous effects of exposure to environmental toxins that can affect thyroid functioning.

The reports also encourage women to avoid nitrates and thiocyanate that are released in cigarette fumes  and are found in vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. These chemicals interfere with production of thyroid hormones. However, the chemicals are rarely ingested in amounts that can be harmful.  

Most food packages do not furnish accurate nutritional facts and the actual iodine content is different from what is mentioned in the labels. The experts believe the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must take necessary steps to let Americans understand the importance of eating iodine rich diets 'with confidence'.  

"Obviously iodine is critical to the fetal and child brain. Therefore having a diet that's rich in iodine is critical," said Loralei Thornburg, a researcher from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

More information is available online in the journal Pediatrics.