Folic Acid
All about folic acid
You’ve heard a lot about folic acid, but sometimes it’s hard to keep all of your vitamins straight! Here’s a quick overview of why folic acid is important for you and your baby, and how you can make sure that you get enough folic acid vitamins.
Folic acid helps mom and baby
Folic acid is the synthetic form of naturally occurring folate. Both are forms of vitamin B9, which is used to make DNA, the building blocks of cells. During pregnancy, folic acid is very important to support mom’s body changes and baby’s growth and development.
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Folic acid keeps your body healthy by helping build new red blood cells. Women without enough folic acid in their diet are at risk for a certain type of anemia—fewer healthy red blood cells than normal. And they are at greater risk of giving birth to babies with neural tube defects (NTDs).25 |
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Babies rely on a mother’s supply of folic acid, and without enough folic acid, NTDs are more likely to occur. These serious birth defects affect the proper development of the spine (also known as spina bifida) and the brain (anencephaly).26 |
It’s best to start taking folic acid before conception
NTDs occur during the first few weeks of pregnancy—often before you even know you are pregnant. So, it’s important to supplement your diet with folic acid vitamins at least a month before getting pregnant!26,27 If all women took adequate folic acid before conception and during pregnancy, 50%-70% of NTDs could be prevented.22
For simple ways to add folic acid to your diet—click here
