The daily choices you make before you become pregnant and during the earliest stages of your pregnancy can significantly affect your baby's health. One major early step you can take to prevent serious birth defects is to get the right amount of a B vitamin called folate. Since you may have trouble getting enough folate from diet alone, your doctor will likely recommend that you take a supplemental form of folate called folic acid.
Significance
Taking the recommended amount of folic acid in early pregnancy helps reduce your baby's risk of having neural tube defects by 50 to 70 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One common neural tube defect is anencephaly, which is severe brain underdevelopment. Another common neural tube defect is spina bifida, which is when the spinal cord or its coverings aren't fully developed. Some evidence suggests that taking folic acid may also reduce your baby's risk of cleft palate, cleft lip and certain heart defects. Taking folic acid may also help reduce your risk of anemia and pre-eclampsia.
When to Start Taking It
Neural tube defects usually occur within your first 28 days of pregnancy, which often is before you realize that you're pregnant, according to the American Pregnancy Association. In some cases, such as an unplanned conception, you may not even suspect that you could be pregnant. As a result, your doctor will likely recommend that you take folic acid if you're a woman of childbearing age, whether or not you're actively trying to get pregnant.
How Much
For optimal benefits, you should be taking at least 400mcg of folic acid each day before you're pregnant and increase your intake to at least 600mcg per day once you know you're pregnant, according to BabyCenter. You should be getting about 800 to 1,000mcg of folic acid a day if you're already taking a prescription prenatal vitamin. If not, check your vitamin supplement's label to be sure you're getting the right amount. Don't double a vitamin supplement or exceed 1,000mcg of folic acid a day unless your doctor recommends it.
Risk Factors
Your doctor may advise you to increase your folic acid intake over the standard recommended amount if you are more likely to give birth to a baby with a neural tube defect. You may be at a higher risk if you are significantly overweight, if you've previously been pregnant with a baby that had a neural tube defect, if you take certain anti-seizure medications, or if you have diabetes, according to BabyCenter. In this case, your doctor may recommend that you take up to 4mg of folic acid a day throughout your first trimester.
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