Iodine is an essential raw material for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Iodine deficiency inevitably leads to a reduction in thyroid hormones, causing the parts of the fetal cerebral cortex that control language, hearing, and intelligence to fail to differentiate and develop completely. After birth, the infant grows slowly, is slow to react, has a dull facial expression, an enlarged head, a flat nasal bridge, and a protruding tongue with drooling. Some may even be deaf, mute, or mentally ill, and as adults, their height may be less than 1.3 meters. This disease is called "cretinism".
After developing cretinism, there are generally no specific effective treatments, so prevention must be emphasized. Women in iodine-deficient areas should consume more iodine-rich foods after becoming pregnant and consistently use iodized salt.
Research has shown that zinc is involved in the metabolic processes of nucleic acids and proteins in the human body. Zinc deficiency will lead to obstacles in the synthesis of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and metal-containing enzymes. If a woman is deficient in zinc during pregnancy, embryonic development will inevitably be affected, leading to congenital malformations. The malformations are of various types. Data shows that the zinc content in the blood of mothers with abnormal newborns is lower than that of normal mothers.
To prevent zinc deficiency, pregnant women should not be picky eaters. Most foods contain a certain amount of zinc, but animal foods are richer in it. Alcohol should also be avoided during pregnancy because it increases the body's consumption of zinc.
In the early 1970s, a disease that could cause infant death was discovered. The sick children mainly suffered from anemia and often died prematurely due to mental abnormalities, motor disorders, and tortuosity of systemic arteries. Medical researchers found that this was because the mother's copper content in her blood was too low during pregnancy, causing fetal copper deficiency. This leads to a lack of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy source for the body's metabolism, which cannot meet the minimum energy required for life. At the same time, it can affect the activity of certain enzymes in the fetus and the absorption and transport of iron, thus causing anemia.
Research has shown that manganese deficiency can cause significant intellectual disability, and the impact on the healthy development of the fetus is greater when a woman is deficient in manganese during pregnancy. Experiments have shown that maternal manganese deficiency can cause various malformations in the offspring, with the greatest impact on the skeleton, often leading to severe joint deformities and a higher mortality rate.
Generally speaking, people whose diet is mainly based on grains and vegetables will not experience manganese deficiency. However, due to overly refined food processing or a diet primarily consisting of dairy and meat, manganese intake is often insufficient. Therefore, pregnant women should appropriately consume more fruits, vegetables, and coarse grains.
If the human body is deficient in iron, it will develop hypochromic anemia. When a woman is 30 to 32 weeks pregnant, her hemoglobin can drop to its lowest level, causing "physiological anemia of pregnancy." On top of this, further iron deficiency can endanger the fetus. Surveys show that the red blood cell volume of infants born to mothers with severe anemia is 19% smaller than that of normal infants, and their hemoglobin is 20% lower.
Therefore, it is recommended that women during pregnancy should consume more iron-rich foods, such as black fungus, kelp, celery, and chives from vegetables; grain foods include sesame, barley, glutinous rice, and millet; legume foods include soybeans, red beans, broad beans, and mung beans; especially animal liver and egg yolks, which are even richer in content.