Taking Folic Acid during Pregnancy

Folic acid is a B vitamin which is used to make new cells. Our skin, hair and nails are parts of the body which make new cells every day.

During pregnancy it is imperative that you eat a healthy, varied diet which will help to give you and your baby the required vitamins and minerals needed.

However, when trying to get pregnant, or when you find out you are pregnant, it is important to take a folic acid supplement.

As per the NHS guidelines, you should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. This should start from before you are pregnant until you are 12 weeks pregnant.

Why folic acid?

Folic acid is important as it can reduce the risk of problems with your baby’s development in the very early weeks of pregnancy. This includes neural tube defects, including spinal bifida.

Spinal bifida is not that common but some of the problems it could cause for the baby include:

• Problems with movement
• Bladder and bowel problems
• Learning difficulties

Whilst there are some foods which contain natural folic acid, such as green leafy vegetables, some foods have folic acid added. This may include breakfast cereal and spreads like margarine. Unlike other suggested vitamins and minerals, it may be difficult to get the full recommended amount of folic acid during pregnancy by just relying on natural foods, which is why it is advised that a tablet supplement is also used.

Some people may have a higher risk of having a pregnancy affected by neural tube defects and therefore are advised to take a dose of 5mg folic acid.

You may be higher risk if:

• You have diabetes
• You or your partner have a neural tube defect
• You have had a previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect
• You or your partner have a family history of neural tube defects
• You have epilepsy
• You are a heavy drinker

Throughout your pregnancy it is really important to make sure that you are getting the right vitamins and minerals, most of which can be done by eating a healthy, balanced diet and taking any supplements to top up what you may not get from your diet.