It is normal for married couples to want children. Kids will make your home brighter with their cheerful laughs. But of course, before having a child, both parents, especially the mother need to be ready in all aspects including making sure her body is in an optimum condition for conceiving.
Please take your folic acid 3 months before planning a pregnancy…
says the doctor.
If you are a couple who seek advice from the physician before conceiving, you must be familiar with this speech.
Taking folic acid before pregnancy is the most known advice. But why folic acid is so important?
Why did doctors advise you to take folic acid 3 months before?
Neural tube defects (NTDs) in babies is a major concern during pregnancy. NTDs are a defect that occurs during the development of the brain, spine or the spinal cord.
The neural tube is a structure from the embryo that eventually will form the brain, spine and spinal cord, which it is supposed to close after the development process completes.
Neural tube development in babies starts early around three to four weeks after conception, even before the mother notices that she is pregnant. However, in NTDs the neural tube cannot be closed and cause a defect such as spina bifida.
Babies who are born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida might have problems with their physical abilities, disruption to certain organs function and affect how the brain works which can range from mild to severe.
There are a variety of factors that can cause NTDs in babies, one of them is folic acid deficiency. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended the use of folic acid to reduce the cases related to neural tube defects.
Why should you take folic acid?
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Folic acid is one of the vitamins B (B9). This vitamin is crucial in the making of new cells such as our body tissue, organs, skin, hair, and etc.
In baby making, folic acid plays an important role. As it functions in the making of new cells, it helps to prevent the neural tube defects in babies such as spina bifida and anencephaly by helping the neural tube to close.
Folic acid supplementation has been reported to have an incredible effect in reducing the risk of neural tube defects.
Why start early?
Yes, you heard this before. You should start taking folic acid at least 3 months before conceiving. But why start early?
It is reported that it will help the mother’s body to build up a certain amount of folic acid so that risks to any defect in baby-making especially the neural tube defects can be reduced.
What if the newly married woman who never had an idea about this gets pregnant? Is it already too late? No, not necessary.
If the mother was not aware of this and never took folic acid supplementation before, they should start taking folic acid as soon as they find out that they are pregnant.
Taking folic acid right away can help to support an optimum development of the baby and may prevent other deformities such as cleft palate. And of course, you should continue with folic acid till the end of the pregnancy journey.
How Much Folic Acid Do You Need?
If you are a woman with a childbearing age (20’s to 40’s), it is highly recommended to take the supplement with 400mcg of folic acid each day.
Along with that, consuming food with high folate (a natural form of folic acid) should be considered such as green leafy vegetables and brown rice.
Other than that, nowadays many of our food sources are fortified with folic acids too such as pastas, breads and some breakfast cereals.
Does your partner need to consume it as well?
Folic acid is not beneficial for the woman only. In fact, this vitamin can also help in fertility of both partners.
A man who increases his folic acid intake will increase the sperm count by 75%. So, this can be a good supplement for the couples who plan to get pregnant and the trying to conceive (TTC) couples.
So now you understand the importance of folic acid? If you are planning to get pregnant, you can start to consume this supplement now. Here’s to a healthy baby!
References:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2019. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/about.html
- New England Fertility Institute. Retrieved from https://www.nefertility.com/international-fertility-blog/maximizing-male-fertility#:~:text=Folic%20Acid%20is%20a%20B,count%20in%20sub%2Dfertile%20men.