A health expert has said iodine deficiency in pregnant women might affect their babies.

Dr. Teofilo San Luis, the country representative and director of International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, said a pregnant woman who does not have enough iodine in her body might affect the development of her baby’s brain.

“The critical period is the first five months of pregnancy. That's the time when the brain part is being developed. And so if there is iodine deficiency in the first five months, all of these brain parts become defective so to speak,” San Luis told “Monings@ANC” recently.

He added: “If there is an [iodine] deficiency during pregnancy, it translates into mental retardation for the child.”

He stressed that pregnant women, especially in the early part of their pregnancy, should observe whether their thyroid gland is getting bigger, an indication of deficiency in iodine.

“She perhaps needs to increase her iodine intake in order to assure the development of the brain because that's the very essential part,” he said.

The group of San Luis is engaged in activities meant to increase public awareness about iodine deficiency and fight the disease. He said that in Asia the Philippine still lags behind in terms of the recommended intake of iodized salt, the most reliable source of iodine.

In 2003, the country’s iodized salt intake was still at 56 percent. This was way below the recommended intake of 90 percent in 2000, he said.

“All of us are using salt anyway. The quantity of salt is not that much. All you have to do is just have a pinch of salt for a day,” he said. 

The group is also encouraging people to consume seafoods to avoid iodine deficiency.