The best way to reduce the risk of your baby developing a neural tube defect is to take daily folic acid supplements from 12 weeks before conception until at least 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant should get at least 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) of folic acid daily before conception and for at least 3 months afterward. Studies show that this greatly reduces a baby's risk of serious neural tube defects.
Folic acid before and during pregnancy
It's important to take a 400 micrograms folic acid tablet every day before you're pregnant and until you're 12 weeks pregnant. Folic acid can help prevent birth defects known as neural tube defects, including spina bifida.
Folic acid (vitamin B9) is very important for a baby's health and development. You don't need to take folic acid after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
By 12 weeks the neural tube has already grown, so taking folic acid after this point will not help your baby's development. However, some pregnancy multivitamins (including Healthy Start vitamins) include folic acid. You can continue to take this all through your pregnancy.
It's recommended to take Elevit daily for at least 1 month before you conceive, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. If you don't breastfeed, it's recommended to take Elevit right up until birth, and then switch to a multivitamin such as Elevit Women's Daily Multivitamin.
When should I stop taking folic acid? Once you reach 12 weeks pregnant your baby's spine will have developed, so you can stop taking folic acid if you wish. However you can continue to take supplements after 12 weeks if you choose to and it won't harm your baby to do so.
It's unlikely that women will be hurt from getting too much folic acid. We don't know of an amount that is dangerous. Yet, for most women, consuming more than 1,000 mcg of folic acid daily is of no benefit. Unless their doctor advises them to take more, most women should limit the amount they take to 1,000 mcg a day.
Conclusions. Continued folic acid supplementation in pregnancy beyond the early period recommended to prevent NTD may have beneficial effects on child cognitive development.
What can happen if I do not get enough folic acid during pregnancy? 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.
Folic acid has also been suggested to reduce your risk of: Pregnancy complications (One report found that women who took folic acid supplements during the second trimester had a reduced risk of preeclampsia.)
Now that you're pregnant, do you have to take prenatal vitamins the whole nine months? Because your baby continues to grow and develop throughout the entire nine months in utero, it's important to continue to take a prenatal multivitamin during your entire pregnancy.
Background: Supplementation with folic acid (FA) is recommended worldwide before and during early pregnancy because of its proven effect in preventing neural tube defects, but the role of FA after the 12th gestational week (GW) is much less clear.
How much folic acid do you need? All pregnant women should take get at least 600 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid daily, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Most prenatal vitamins contain this amount of folic acid.
If you are taking folic acid to treat a diagnosed deficiency, or to lower your homocysteine levels, be sure to speak to your doctor before stopping. If you are just taking folic acid in hopes of improving your overall health, it's probably safe to stop on your own.
Results: A significant protective effect was seen with large doses of folic acid ( approximately 6 mg/d) and iron (150-300 mg/d of ferrous sulfate) during the first gestational month against Down's syndrome (adjusted odds ratio 0.4, 95% confidence interval 0.2 to 0.7 for both).
Folic Acid Can Help Prevent Birth Defects
Folic acid can reduce certain birth defects of the brain and spinal cord by more than 70 percent. These birth defects are called neural tube defects (NTDs). NTDs happen when the spinal cord fails to close properly. The most common neural tube defect is spina bifida.
There are 2 vital pregnancy supplements that are recommended in pregnancy, vitamin D and folic acid. You should take vitamin D throughout your pregnancy.
Elevit is a low dose, OTC product that does not contain some of the nutrients essential to pregnancy, does contain some that aren't essential and in forms that may not be the most bioavailable (well absorbed).
Elevit is a specialist pregnancy supplement formulated to help meet your increased nutritional needs when you are trying to conceive as well as when you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Elevit contains 800mcg folic acid, 220mcg iodine and 60mg of elemental iron.
Elevit is a trusted product with the highest level of folic acid and iron of any pregnancy multivitamin, plus a high level of iodine. Many of our TMB mums have used Elevit from pre-conception through to breastfeeding for all of their pregnancies and found it to be a great supplement for their needs.
It's best to take folic acid for at least 14 weeks before you become pregnant, when you're trying for a baby. You should continue taking it for at least the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Folic acid can also be taken with: ferrous fumarate and ferrous sulphate (to treat iron deficiency anaemia)
Keep Taking Your Prenatals
If you're wondering whether you really need to keep taking prenatal vitamins, the answer is an emphatic yes. When you're pregnant, your nutritional needs differ from your needs before pregnancy, and skipping prenatals could harm you and your baby.