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Folic Acid: Women
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Folic acid is one of the few nutrients known to prevent neural tube birth defects, such as spina bifida, which affects one in every 1,000 babies born in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control report that women who take the recommended daily dosage of folic acid reduce their baby's risk of some types of birth defects by 50 percent. Women who don't get enough may increase their chance of miscarriage or still births. Folate-deficiency anemia and iron-deficiency anemia can have the same symptoms of fatigue and weakness. A mild folate deficiency can ... leave you grumpy or edgy.
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Folic acid works, but it only works if taken before and during the first few weeks of pregnancy, when the neural tube is developing into the brain and spinal cord. When the neural tube does not close properly, a baby is born with a very serious birth defect called a neural tube defect. About 2,500 children are born each year in the United States with a neural tube defect. If all women took adequate folic acid before conception and during pregnancy, the number of babies born with a neural tube defect could drop by as much as 70 percent.
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Folic acid is very important for all women who may become pregnant. Adequate folate intake during the periconceptional period, the time just before and just after a woman becomes pregnant, helps protect against a number of congenital malformations including neural tube defects.[8] Neural tube defects result in malformations of the spine (spina bifida), skull, and brain (anencephaly). The risk of neural tube defects is significantly reduced when supplemental folic acid is consumed in addition to a healthy diet prior to and during the first month following conception.[9][10] Women who could become pregnant are advised to eat foods fortified with folic acid or take supplements in addition to eating folate-rich foods to reduce the risk of some serious birth defects. Taking 400 micrograms of synthetic folic acid daily from fortified foods and/or supplements has been suggested. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for folate equivalents for pregnant women is 600-800 micrograms, twice the normal RDA of 400 micrograms for women who are not pregnant.[11]
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In depth research of folic acid has lead to a highly publicized campaign, lead by the March of Dimes foundation, to educate women of childbearing age on the effects of folic acid deficiency during pregnancy. When folic acid is deficient before and during pregnancy, neural tube defects in the fetus can lead to underdevelopment of the spine and the brain of the baby. If the neural tube does not close properly at the top the baby can be born without a brain. This is called anencephaly and will result in the death of the baby soon after birth. If the neural tube does not close properly at the bottom, the nerves of the spinal cord are left exposed, leading to a paralyzing condition known as spina bifida. Since the development of the neural tube happens in the first trimester of pregnancy, it is recommended that all women of childbearing age take a folic acid supplement before becoming pregnant as well as during the pregnancy to prevent these defects.
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Women who have had a previous child with neural tube defect, women who suffer from epilepsy and those who have diabetes need to consult their physician before taking supplements of folic acid while they consider pregnancy planning. This is because they have a higher risk of NTD babies. NTD babies may have poorly developed brains and die soon after birth. Spina bifidia may cause permanent paralysis of the lower body, loss of bladder and bowel control in the new born baby. NTD usually develop within the first 30 days of conception, so it is essential that women adopt proper conception planning techniques. Women who have had a NTD baby and who take a higher dosage of Folic acid for pre-pregnancy and during the pregnancy reduce the chances of NTD by as much as 70%.
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Folic acid might help to prevent some other birth defects, such as cleft lip and palate and some heart defects. There might ... be other health benefits of taking folic acid for both women and men. More research is needed to confirm these other health benefits.
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