Background: The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council recommends women take a supplement containing 150 mcg iodine/day to meet the increased iodine needed prior to and during pregnancy and lactation.
Objective: The present study was undertaken to explore women’s understanding and use of iodine supplementation associated pregnancy.
Methods: Women attending a public antenatal clinic for low-risk pregnancy in metropolitan Melbourne were invited to participate in a questionnaire–based study .
Results: 235 women agreed to participate and 190 of these provided evaluable data. At completion of the questionnaire their mean age was 33.4 years (range 24.9 to 47.2) and the average gestation was 32 weeks (range 14 to 41). 174 (91.6%), women reported taking a multivitamin at some point during pregnancy and 142 of these (81.6%) reported taking their multivitamin at the clinic visit, with most (127 women, 73%) taking it daily.
71 women (37.4%) reported taking an iodine-containing supplement for a period that exceeded the duration of their pregnancy. 82 of the 181 women who answered questions about knowledge of iodine (45.3%) reported they were aware of the recommendation to take an iodine supplement from preconception until the completion of breastfeeding. Of these, only 30 (36.6%) reported having commenced iodine prior to conception.
Conclusions: This study indicates that there is sub-optimal awareness of the importance of taking an iodine supplement from pre-conception through completion of breastfeeding. Furthermore, it indicates that adherence to the recommendation to take iodine from pre-conception is low, even amongst those who report being aware of this recommendation. Additional community education is required to achieve optimal reproductive iodine supplementation.