Pregnant women need iodised salt and iodine supplements

Although bread in Australia is fortified with iodised salt, this alone does not supply pregnant women with sufficient iodine to ensure a healthy foetus, researchers from the University of Adelaide claim. The study has prompted calls for pregnant women to keep taking iodine supplements.

“Iodine is an essential element which is important for human brain development and thyroid function,” said Associate Professor Vicki Clifton from the university’s Robinson Institute and Lyell McEwin Hospital, a lead author of the study.

“In 2009, Australian bread producers began a mandatory program of iodine supplementation in bread to help provide a boost to iodine levels in the community. Our study was aimed at determining whether or not that was having a positive impact on iodine levels for pregnant women.”

The study followed close to 200 women through pregnancy to sixth months post-birth. The study found that, despite the inclusion of iodised salt in bread, those women who were not taking an iodine supplement during pregnancy were still deficient in iodine.

“Those women who were taking a supplement in addition to eating bread with iodised salt were receiving healthy levels of iodine, well within WHO guidelines,” Clifton said.

“There’s a lot of work going on around the world to ensure that pregnant women are receiving enough iodine for the healthy development of their unborn babies,” said Emeritus Professor Basil Hetzel AC, who began researching iodine deficiency more than 50 years ago.

“The message is simple: by taking iodine supplements, pregnant women will be able to prevent brain and organ development problems in their babies, and also maintain a healthy level of iodine for themselves.”

The study results were outlined in an article, The impact of iodine supplementation and bread fortification on urinary iodine concentrations in a mildly iodine deficient population of pregnant women in South Australia, published in Nutrition Journal.