Folic Acid

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Folic Acid

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🛑 Folic acid is a form of folate (a B vitamin) that everyone needs. If you are planning on getting pregnant, can get pregnant or are pregnant, folic acid is especially important.

🛑 Folic acid and folate help the body make healthy new red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to all the parts of your body. If your body does not make enough red blood cells, you can develop anemia.

🛑 Everyone needs folic acid to be healthy. But it is especially important for women before and during pregnancy.

🛑 Its important to start taking folic acid at least 3 months before you start trying for a baby so your body has enough store for the upcoming pregnancy.

🛑 You can get folic acid in two ways.

🔸️Through the foods you eat. Folate is found naturally in some foods, including spinach, nuts, beans, enriched foods ( bread, pasta, cereals )

🔸️As a vitamin.

🛑 All women need 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. If youre Pregnant, can get pregnant or are planning on getting pregnant, should get 400 to 800 micrograms of folic acid daily ( from food and from vitamins )

🛑 If you had a baby with a neural tube defect (such as spina bifida) and want to get pregnant again or have a family member with spina bifida or you have spina bifida, you may need 4,000 micrograms of Folic acid. Let your doctor know if you have such history.

🛑 If you take medicines to treat epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus let your doctor know. Folic acid supplements can interact with these medicines.

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

🛑 Folic acid protects unborn children against serious birth defects called neural tube defects. These birth defects happen in the first few weeks of pregnancy, often before you even know you're pregnant. If you do not get enough folic acid before and during pregnancy, your baby is at higher risk for neural tube defects. Neural tube defects are serious birth defects that affect the spine, spinal cord, or brain and may cause death.

These include:

🛑 Spina bifida : This condition happens when an unborn baby's spinal column does not fully close during development in the womb, leaving the spinal cord exposed. As a result, the nerves that control the legs and other organs do not work. Children with spina bifida often have lifelong disabilities. They may also need many surgeries.

🛑 Anencephaly : This means that most or all of the brain and skull does not develop in the womb. Almost all babies with this condition die before or soon after birth.

🛑Take Folic acid daily if you're pregnant or make sure you're eating foods rich in Folic acid to provide your daily requirement. Its very especially during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

🛑 Folic acid is not a fertility drug. If you have a problem getting pregnant, you can take all the folic acid in the world and still not get pregnant.

🛑 Folic acid does not prepare your womb for pregnancy.

❗Are you planning on getting pregnant soon? Don't forget to take your folic acid supplements .

❗ If you are taking prenatal vitamins, those contain folic acid in the recommended dose and you don't need to take extra folic acid, unless required by your obgyn.