Folic Acid Pregnancy

Taking folic acid use before you become pregnant, preconception is right up there in the pregnancy preparation list of important things to do. Proper levels of folic acid before pregnancy can help protect baby, by up to 70%, from neural tube defects such as… spina bifida. Since the neural tube develops during the first four weeks of your baby’s life, and this is before many women know they are pregnant, it is imperative to have a good level of folic acid in your system. It’s recommended that a folic acid supplement be taken up to 3 months before conception before pregnancy up until pregnancy week 12. Its a simple thing to do and its not expensive but is something you should plan for. Consider also the peace of mind that you will have if you have done everything you can to ensure the health of yourself and your baby before getting pregnant.

Folic Acid background
Folic acid is a B vitamin and it was discovered early last century. It became known as folate and occurs naturally in leafy green vegetables such as brocolli and spinach, also black beans lentils, breads, pasta and some nuts. The absorption of folic acid from foods can be low however, and this is why a folic acid supplement is recommended before conception and during the first pregnancy weeks. Although this website does not endorse particular levels of folic acid that are optimum during pregnancy we can tell you that the general recommendation for pregnant and lactating women is 600 mcg/day and 500 mcg/day, respectively. Apparently women with inadequate folic acid intake are more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies (less than 5 ½ pounds) in addition to being more at risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect.