How much iodine do I need during pregnancy and breastfeeding?
The iodine requirement is increased during pregnancy. For pregnant and breastfeeding women, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends a daily intake of 230 micrograms and 260 micrograms, respectively. By comparison, the average iodine requirement of adult women is around 200 micrograms per day.
To take account of the special metabolic situation during pregnancy, it may be advisable to take additional (low-dose) iodine tablets in addition to an adapted iodine-rich diet – but only after consulting your gynecologist.
Why is iodine needed during breastfeeding?
Since the infant is exclusively dependent on the iodine supply via the mother’s milk, an adequate supply of iodine is indispensable even after birth. This is because a (pronounced) iodine deficiency in the mother can also be transmitted to the breastfed infant.
Iodine is an essential trace element that is indispensable for the function of the child’s thyroid gland. The body cannot produce iodine itself, but it must be ingested through food.
The infant’s body forms thyroid hormones from the trace element iodine. These regulate important metabolic processes in the body, ensure healthy growth and are involved in the further development of the nervous system and muscles.
Why is iodine needed during pregnancy?
The thyroid gland of the fetus matures until the 18th-20th week of pregnancy. It is only from this time that the unborn child can also independently produce the thyroid hormone thyroxine from the iodine provided. In the early stages of pregnancy, the supply of the vital thyroid hormones is therefore provided exclusively by the mother.
In addition, other processes in iodine metabolism play a certain role during pregnancy: for example, increased kidney activity also contributes to increased excretion of the trace element in the urine. This loss of the trace element should then be consciously compensated for during this phase.
By the way: After birth and breastfeeding, the temporarily increased iodine requirement recedes.
How does iodine deficiency manifest itself during pregnancy?
A deficiency of iodine can impair the healthy development of the growing child. Although severe iodine deficiency is rare in our day and age, around one third of all adults in Germany nevertheless have a slight to moderate iodine deficit.
Even the infant thyroid gland can suffer damage at early stages of development. It can enlarge and cause respiratory problems or swallowing difficulties in the newborn immediately after birth (“newborn goiter”) and associated hypothyroidism.
Are there risks from an iodine oversupply?
Even though a good iodine supply is essential for the healthy development of the child, you should also avoid an iodine oversupply during pregnancy.
On the one hand, such an oversupply of iodine – beyond the recommended “set point” – does not seem to have any additional positive influence on the child’s development according to current knowledge. On the other hand, a (persistent) iodine oversupply can also cause damage and have a negative effect on mothers and babies – for example, in the form of overactivity of the child’s, but also the mother’s, thyroid gland.
However, this can quickly happen if several (free-release) iodine-containing food supplements (e.g. dried algae or seaweed preparations) are taken at the same time. Therefore, there is no general recommendation for the supplementary or preventive intake of iodine supplements during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
If you are concerned that you may develop an iodine deficiency in your pregnancy, you should definitely discuss this with your gynecologist before taking such supplements.
If you suspect that you may have a thyroid disease, doctors can perform further examinations to determine the optimal iodine dosage for you in a targeted manner – or, if necessary, initiate concomitant treatment with thyroid hormones.
