Benefits of Taking Folic Acid When Pregnant

By Chancey Lane


There are several vitamin and minerals you ought to take whilst pregnant but the most important of these is folic acid. Every woman should take 400 micrograms of folic acid during pregnancy, especially during the first 12 weeks. If you are planning a pregnancy, taking this amount of folic acid as a part of your health routine has even more benefits.

Folic acid which is Vitamin B9 is essential to the healthy development of your child. It can prevent serious neural tube defects such as spina bifida, anencephaly which is a severe underdevelopment of the brain and encephalocele, also a brain health defect.

Folic acid plays a important role in the development of DNA. It is essential for the healthy growth of your foetus' cells and for tissue formation especially in the first 3 months of pregnancy.

As soon as you have any suspicion that you are pregnant, start taking folic acid. Many doctors will agree that the vitamin is particularly important in the first 4 weeks of pregnancy. Therefore if you know that these are your child bearing years, maintain a supplement if you can.

However, if you do get pregnant and do not know about it and take folic acids straight away do not worry too much. Over 50% of pregnancies are unplanned; so many women do not take folic acid during the first month of pregnancy. You can only do the best for your baby once you know you are pregnant and worrying about the fact you have not taken folic acid during the first few weeks of your pregnancy is not going to help you or your baby. In fact the opposite is true.

If you suffer from epilepsy or diabetes your doctor is likely to recommend taking a higher dose of folic acid than usual. They may also do so if you are obese or have already had a child with a brain or spine defect. If you fall into one of these groups and your doctor does not automatically advice taking extra folic acid ask them about it. Do not take more folic acid than told to by your doctor.




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