Folic Acid and Pregnancy
              
The B vitamin folic acid helps prevent birth defects. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and while she is pregnant, her baby is less likely to have a major birth defect of the brain or spine.

Most women do not know how important folic acid is for their bodies and for the health of a baby they might have in the future. They also do not know that a woman needs to take folic acid every day, starting before she is pregnant, for it to work to prevent birth defects.

Birth defects of a baby’s brain or spine happen in the first few weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman knows that she is pregnant. That is why it is important for a woman to get enough folic acid each day, starting before she is pregnant.

Q:  What is folic acid and where can I get it?

Folic acid is a B vitamin that the body needs to make healthy new cells. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before and during pregnancy, her baby is less likely to have a neural tube birth defect. Every woman who could possibly get pregnant should take 400 micrograms (400 mcg or 0.4 mg) of folic acid daily in a vitamin or in foods that have been enriched with folic acid.

There are two simple ways to be sure to get enough each day:

Take one vitamin with folic acid each day. Most multivitamins sold in the United States have the amount of folic acid women need each day. Women can also choose to take a small pill that has only folic acid in it each day. Both types of vitamins can be found at most local pharmacy, grocery, or discount stores.

Something as easy as eating a bowl of a breakfast cereal can give you 100% of the daily value (DV) of folic acid every day. The label on the side of the box should say “100%” next to folic acid.  You should also eat a healthy diet that has lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods.

Scientists don’t know how folic acid works to prevent birth defects. But they do know that folic acid is needed to make healthy new cells, like the ones that make up a baby’s brain, spine, organs, skin, and bones. Taking folic acid every day, starting before and during pregnancy, can reduce the risk for these serious birth defects by 50% to 70%.

Finally, it’s important to remember that every woman needs folic acid for the healthy new cells her body makes every day . . . even if she is not planning to get pregnant.