 Folic Acid in Pregnancy
Folic acid, which is also refered to as vitamin B9 or folate, is one of the few nutrients known to prevent neural tube birth defects which affect the spinal cord and brain such as spina bifida. Women who take the recommended daily dose of folic acid, 400 mcg, starting one month before they conceive and throughout the first trimester can reduce their baby's risk of birth defects such as spina bifida by as much as 70 percent.
Studies have shown that women who take folic acid up to four months prior to conceiving reduce the chance of birth defects more than the recommended dose. Some other benefits to taking folic acid are decreasing the risk of miscarriage, arm and leg defects, cleft lip and palate, and certain types of heart defects in their baby. Folic Acid is very important for the rapid cell growth that occurs during pregnancy because folic acid is needed for the production, repair, and functioning of DNA.
If your pregnancy is not planned, the U.S. Public Health Service recommends that all women of childbearing age get at least 400 mcg of folic acid each day. Once you get pregnant, you will want to increase your daily intake to at least 600 mcg. For most pregnant women, your body will flush out the excess folic acid if to much is consumed. If you are a vegetarian and don’t consume dairy products, you may have a B12 deficiency. If to much folic acid is consumed it will make the B12 deficiency hard to detect by physicians. If you think you may be at risk, consult to your doctor. Women who've had a child with a neural tube defect have an elevated risk of having a second baby with the same birth defect. Healthcare providers are now recommending these women take ten times as much folic acid (4,000 mcg or 4 milligrams) and continuing to take it until the end of the third month of pregnancy. See your doctor for a prescription if you have already had a baby with a neural tube defect.
There are many types food you can eat to add more folic acid to your diet. Enriched grain food sources such as breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, and rice contain at least 20 percent of the daily requirement, and some breakfast cereals contain 100% (400 mcg) or more. Some other sources include: cooked lentils, papayas, cooked frozen peas, asparagus, broccoli, boiled collard greens, canned chickpeas, strawberries and oranges.
Some of the signs of deficiency can be very faint. You may have diarrhea, a sore tongue, headaches, heart palpitations, decrease of appetite, weight loss, weakness, and irritability. If you know you are not getting enough folic acid in your diet, but you don’t have any of these symptoms, consult your doctor to see what you can do to add more to your diet to ensure you are getting the right amount you need for your baby's early embryonic development.
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