Folic Acid And Trying To Get Pregnant

When you become pregnant, you begin to focus on making the best choices for your unborn baby. Eating a balanced diet, avoiding alcohol and getting plenty of rest help ensure a smooth pregnancy and a healthy child.

Planning a healthy pregnancy should begin even before you conceive, though. You increase your chances of conception by staying as healthy as possible prior to pregnancy. Likewise, you minimize your baby's risk of problems by following recommendations for women who are trying to conceive. Folic acid supplementation comprises an important part of your pre-pregnancy plan.

Neural Tube Defects

Prenatal vitamins contain important nutrients and minerals that you and your baby need during pregnancy. Your doctor may add folic acid supplements, even if your daily tablet already contains this B vitamin. Folic acid, the synthetic form of the B vitamin called folate, prevents birth defects, especially those of the neural tube.

The neural tube consists of those embryonic structures that later become the central nervous system, specifically, the brain and spinal cord. Development of the neural tube finishes just 28 days after conception, when most women still haven't confirmed their pregnancy, explains the October 2000 issue of "Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America." Taking folic acid before you know about your pregnancy ensures proper levels during that early crucial period of gestation.

Other Benefits

Evidence of a link between low B vitamin levels and nervous system defects surfaced as early as the 1960s. A landmark study published in "Lancet" in July 1991, confirmed the link between increased folic acid levels and decreased neural tube defects. Much research since then focused on neural tube defects, but ongoing studies indicate that folic acid in the gestational period plays other protective roles as well.

Folic acid supplementation in the pre-natal and early pregnancy periods seems to prevent cleft lip and cleft palate also, according to an article in "The Journal of Nutrition" from 2002. Evidence indicates that folic acid may even protect your baby against congenital heart defects and limb anomalies.

Foods with Folate

Incorporate nutrient-rich foods containing folate into your diet before you become pregnant. In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began to require fortification of all-grain products, such as flour, pasta and rice, with folic acid. As a result, some foods, especially breakfast cereals, contain a full day's supply of folate, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other healthy foods with high levels of folate include beans, leafy green vegetables, peas, avocados and asparagus, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements.

Folic Acid Supplements

Despite the widespread availability of folate in food, women who may become pregnant should take a folic acid supplement. Your body eliminates excess folate in the urine, so toxicity rarely occurs.

The "Journal of Nutrition" article reports that the digestive system absorbs synthetic folic acid more completely than the natural form of folate. The recommended dose of folic acid varies, based on your pregnancy status and the history of birth defects in your family. When trying to get pregnant, you need at least 0.4mg of folic acid per day. If you or a relative have a spinal canal birth defect, you will need up to 4mgs of folic acid under the supervision of a physician.

Warning

Some clinicians advise folic acid supplementation for all women of child-bearing age. Ask your doctor for recommendations if you could potentially get pregnant or are planning to become pregnant.