Nutrition Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Complications of Subclinical Gestational Hypothyroidism

Abstract

We have explored the effect of nutrition management based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine nutrition on the complications of subclinical gestational hypothyroidism. A total of 228 pregnant women from the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University and the Wuxi Xishan People’s Hospital who were diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism between June 2020 and April 2022 were recruited. The patients were divided into the control group (n = 120) and intervention group (n = 108) using the historical control method. The intervention group adopted the traditional Chinese medicine nutrition management model, while the control group was given conventional gestational nutrition management. Iodine nutritional status, maternal and neonatal outcomes, pregnancy complications, pregnancy stress, and social support were compared between the two groups before intervention, at 20 weeks of pregnancy, and before labor. The intervention group had significantly lower iodine nutritional status, better postpartum nutritional status, better pregnancy outcome, lower incidences of pregnancy complications, and better pregnancy stress and social support than in the control group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, traditional Chinese medicine-based nutrition management can effectively control iodine nutritional status, improve maternal and neonatal outcomes, reduce pregnancy complications, and decrease pregnancy stress in postpartum women.