nutrient info about breech, miscarriage, and brain development

[krizzanne]

Hi, my favorite health blogger posted a couple fascinating studies about thyroid health, iodine status and fetal development:

[I] Dutch study shows:

* Pregnant women with a TSH of 0.5 or less had NO breech births at all, and those between 0.51 and 0.71 had only a 1% chance of a breech birth.
* Pregnant women with a TSH between 0.71 and 2.49 had about a 5% chance of breech birth.
* Pregnant women with TSH of 2.50 to 2.89 had an 11% chance of breech birth, while those with TSH above 2.89 had a 14% chance of breech birth.

They also mention a blurb about thyroid and miscarriage:
An Italian study showed that pregnant women with TSH between 2.5 and 5.0 had a miscarriage rate 70% higher than women with TSH below 2.5. [2]

And last this about thyroid, iodine, and brain development:
[I]Especially during pregnancy, thyroid and iodine status are critical. An elevated TSH usually indicates an iodine deficiency, and “even a mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy and during the first years of life adversely affects brain development.” [4] Iodine deficiency is the most common worldwide cause of mental retardation (cretinism), and elevated TSH during pregnancy can be expected to reduce the IQ ...and to produce other neurological deficits...

The link is: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?s=pregnancy
This is info I have never seen in the general health and pregnancy info, and thought you may be interested.

[Trainer_Mom]

That is VERY interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[krizzanne]

I edited out a lot of info including the reference links to keep to the copywright rules...and I added the link to the article source.

oops, sorry about that.

Is it ok now?

If anyone wants the links to the studies, they are at that article or you can pm me.

[Artichokie]

Subbing for future reference. I get my TSH levels checked monthly during pregnancy.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

besides my prenatal, I take extra Vit D3 and kelp (source of iodine). Iodine deficiency also may be a cause for low supply in breastfeeding mothers, from the research I've found. Check out the links in my post #41 about iodine and breastfeeding. Another thing is the fact that fluoride cancel out iodine in the body, so another reason to re-evaluate your supplements.

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...1252021&page=3

[krizzanne]

Ilovemybabybird,

Thank you for those other links and information, it is invaluable.

I used to think that supplements were unnecessary, but the more I read about epigenetics, generational damage, and lack of proper nutrients in our food sources (like chickens fed soy/cows fed grains/soil fertilizers and hydroponics), I think most of us need them to make up for what is almost impossible to get by eating, as well as to cure the damage we have already done from past bad diet.

That flouride fact is profound, I will be doing a lot more reading!

[Smokering]

Interesting! I posted about iodine recently - it's just recently been greenlit in NZ as a Very Important Supplement for pregnant women, along with folic acid.

[krizzanne]

Smokering,
I just found your thread - it is here:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ghlight=iodine



Thanks for calling my attention to it - I would have just added my post to that thread if I would have seen it.

NZ has such an interesting and progressive history for health/medicine.

[Smokering]

Does it? Ehh, it's OK I guess. They're pretty pro-midwife here, and you can get away without vaxing without *too* much flak. I wish they'd allow raw milk and de-fluoridate the water, though.

The government fact sheet didn't mention anything about breech babies and iodine/thyroid function. That's very interesting, because I'd always assumed the way a baby moved was totally random. Is the idea that low thyroid function somehow interferes with a baby's instinct to go head-down? (I know zinc deficiency can screw up maternal instinct, so it doesn't seem that far-fetched...) Or is there some other reason? Nice to know it's partially preventable, anyway.