A recent article in the journal Epidemiology studies the iodine status of pregnant women, concluding that iodine is essential for maternal health and fetal development, but that women entering pregnancy with sufficient iodine from diet and iodized salt will likely not require iodine supplementation, according to a February 24 story in The Medical News.

The article continues:

"'Good iodine nutritional status at the start of and during pregnancy is essential for maintaining proper thyroid function in the mother and encouraging healthy brain development in the foetus and psycho-motor development in the child', Marisa Rebagliato, lead author of the study and a researcher at the INMA Project, a research network of Spanish groups studying the effects of environmental contaminants during pregnancy and the start of life, tells SINC.

"'When women begin pregnancy with sufficient levels of iodine through having previously taken iodine in their diet and iodised salt, the iodine reserves in their thyroid glands are sufficient to ensure proper synthesis of thyroid hormones, and pharmacological supplements are not recommended, says the scientist."