Are You Taking Enough Folic Acid During Pregnancy?

Folate is a B vitamin that is required for normal growth and development throughout your life. It is also used by your body to make new cells and produce DNA. It is the synthetic form of folate that is found in many supplements and fortified foods.

Folic acid for pregnancy is vital as it nourishes the developing nervous system of the foetus and helps reduce the likelihood of certain birth defects, including spinal cord and brain abnormalities. It’s also important for the proper organ development of the baby.

Here’s everything you need to know about why folic acid is important during pregnancy?

What Are The Health Benefits Of Taking Folic Acid During Pregnancy?

There’s a host of benefits of folic acid in pregnancy. Some of these are:

1. Folic acid for pregnancy is crucial as it helps prevent birth defects.

These birth defects happen in the first few weeks of pregnancy when a woman doesn’t know about her pregnancy, making folic acid in early pregnancy a mandate.

2. Folic acid keeps the blood healthy by helping red blood cells form and grow.

3. A 2015 medical study shows that maternal folic acid supplementation significantly decreases the risk of congenital heart defects that happen when the heart or blood vessels don’t grow normally before the baby’s birth.

They might impact the interior walls of the heart, the heart valves, or the arteries and veins of the heart.

Folic Acid During Pregnancy Can Decrease The Risk of Birth Defects

Folic acid might help prevent other types of birth defects and early pregnancy loss (miscarriage).

Research has also shown that folic acid for pregnancy helps prevent cleft lip and cleft palate (openings or splits in the upper lip).

According to research, folic acid for pregnancy helps prevent birth defects including serious neural tube defects such as spina bifida, encephalocele (rarely), and anencephaly.

Therefore, it is advisable to take folic acid tablets before pregnancy after consulting a doctor.

How Much Folic Acid Is Needed During Pregnancy?

Expectant mums often ask, “What’s the folic acid pregnancy dose”?

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, all expecting women should get at least 600 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid daily. Most folic acid tablets during pregnancy that are recommended by your doctor contain the suggested amount of folic acid.

You might also need higher doses of folic acid if you:

• have kidney disease, sickle cell disease and are on dialysis
• have liver disease
• are on medication to treat epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, or inflammatory bowel disease

What Foods Provide Folic Acid?

Folate is found naturally in some foods and some of these include:

• Spinach and other leafy vegetables
• Orange, nuts and beans
• Poultry (chicken and turkey), meat and whole grains

Folic acid is added to refined or processed foods (not whole grain):

• Breakfast cereals
• Breads and pasta
• Flours, cornmeal and white rice

Can I Get Enough Folic Acid from Food Alone?

No, there’s no guarantee that you will get enough folic acid from food alone. Therefore, a supplement is important.

If you have morning sickness in early pregnancy, it might be difficult to eat enough fortified foods to get the folic acid you need.

Folic acid for pregnancy is vital. To make sure you get enough folic acid, your doctor will usually recommend taking a folic acid supplement or a prenatal vitamin that contains folic acid.

However, medical studies suggest that you should not consume more than 1,000 mcg (1 mg) of folic acid from vitamins, fortified foods, or a combination of both daily.

What Can Happen If I Don’t Get Enough Folic Acid During Pregnancy?

Now that we have already read about the benefits of folic acid during pregnancy, what happens if you don’t take folic acid during pregnancy?

If an expecting mum doesn’t get enough folic acid, she is at an increased risk of anaemia called megaloblastic anaemia.

Some of the symptoms of folate deficiency include:

• Weakness and fatigue
• Trouble in concentrating
• Headache and irritability along with heart palpitations
• Sores on the tongue as well as inside the mouth
• Change in the colour of the skin, hair, or fingernails
• Shortness of breath

Does Folic Acid Cause Side Effects?

Although there aren’t any serious side effects associated with taking too much folic acid, in rare cases, pregnant mums might report an upset stomach.

When taken more than necessary, there is no cause for concern. Since folic acid is water soluble, any excess will naturally pass through the urine.

Talk to Your OB/GYN

It is advisable to discuss with your gynaecologist before consuming any prenatal vitamin. The gynaecologist will guide you on the suggested dose of folate because taking too many supplements can be toxic for your unborn baby.

You can also discuss with him/ her if you experience any of the folate-deficiency symptoms that are already mentioned above.

Key Takeaways

It is advisable to add foods fortified with folic acid to your diet before you conceive. Most pregnant mums get enough folate from their diet. However, those who are at risk of deficiency might need to take folic acid supplements.

FAQs

Folic Acid vs. Methylfolate?

Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate and is found in most leading prenatal vitamin brands. Plus, your body must convert folic acid into methylfolate.

Unfortunately, some women might not fully absorb folic acid. Methylfolate is a scientific term for the active form of folate that all women can fully absorb, allowing this vital nutrient to support their babies. Methylfolate is present in all advanced prenatal vitamins.

Can too much folic acid cause miscarriage?

Although there’s not much evidence, a study from several years ago found that women who took a multivitamin containing 800 micrograms of folic acid before and during early pregnancy had an increased risk of miscarriage.

Since excess of nothing is good, it is advisable to take the suggested dose of folic acid during pregnancy.

What happens if you miss your folic acid?

If you miss folic acid before and during pregnancy, your baby will be at higher risk for neural tube defects that affect the spine, spinal cord, or brain and may also cause death.

What are the symptoms of low folic acid?

The symptoms of low folic acid are weakness, fatigue, trouble in concentrating, headache, irritability along with heart palpitations, sores on the tongue as well as inside the mouth, change in the colour of the skin, hair, or fingernails and shortness of breath.