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Folic Acid: Pregnancies
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Folic acid is a naturally occurring B vitamin that helps a baby's neural tube—the part of a developing baby that becomes the brain and spinal cord—develop properly. It must be taken before and during early pregnancy when the neural tube is developing.
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Studies have shown that getting enough folic acid before conception and during the early months of pregnancy can prevent up to 70 percent of birth defects known as neural tube defects. These types of birth defects, which include spina bifida and anencephaly, are among the most serious birth defects. Spina bifida occurs when the fetus' spinal column does not close to protect the spinal cord. It can cause severe neurological problems and sometimes mental retardation. Anencephaly is a condition in which the baby's brain does not develop properly and most or all of the brain tissue is absent.
You should start taking folic acid prior to getting pregnant, even if you are not trying to conceive. Neural tube defects usually develop in the first 28 days of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows that she is pregnant. If you find you are pregnant and have not been taking folic acid, you should start now to help prevent any neural defects in the first three months of pregnancy.
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The Institute of Medicine ... recommends that women should increase their intake of synthetic folic acid to 600 micrograms a day once their pregnancy is confirmed. Most doctors recommend a prenatal vitamin that contains at least this amount of folic acid. However, women should not take more than 1,000 micrograms (or 1 milligram) without their doctor's advice.
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To help make sure you get enough folic acid before pregnancy and during your first trimester, Biotegrity's Prenatal Vitamins are formulated with increased amounts of folic acid. These easy-to-swallow, extra small capsules ... contain higher levels of vitamin B12 to promote the healthy growth of your baby's nervous system.
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To be effective, a folic acid regimen must begin before conception and continue for at least the first three months of pregnancy. If a woman waits until she knows she is pregnant, it may be too late, because critical events in fetal development occur during the first six weeks of pregnancy, before most women know they have conceived.
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