Pregnant women in Australia are not being adequately informed about the need for iodine supplementation to prevent irreversible neurodevelopmental defects in children, Australian experts believe.
A ‘letter to the editor’ published in the Medical Journal of Australia highlighted recently released clinical guidelines on antenatal care which recommend nutritional supplementation with 500µg per day of folic acid, from 12 weeks before conception and for the first trimester, and 150µg per day of iodine throughout pregnancy. “This recommendation recognizes that, despite the introduction in 2009 of mandatory fortification of bread with both iodine and folic acid fortification does not meet the increased needs of pregnant and lactating women,” co-author, Creswell Eastman, ICCIDD Global Network Board Member, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, said.