Folic acid is the name of a vitamin, a drug that is prescribed for the mother and the unborn baby as soon as she goes to the gynecologist, and it is the first time many people hear about it. In fact, this vitamin is important not only for pregnant women, but for all of us throughout our lives.
Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin B9.
The fact that it is not synthesized in the body, it must come from outside. This is not possible with today's ecology and nutrition. Therefore, pregnant women begin pregnancy with acute folic acid deficiency, which adversely affects the development of the fetus.
What are the complications and risks of folic acid deficiency?
It has long been known in medicine that the number of children born with birth defects due to folic acid deficiency is increasing. It can be a congenital heart, brain, spinal defect.
Deficiency B 9 causes more defects in the neural tubes and ends.
- Complete or partial absence of the brain - Anencephaly
- Spinal cord injuries - Spina bifida - paralyzed children, cerebral palsy
Sometimes pregnant women are prescribed folic acid after the first 3 months, because many of them get pregnant late and go to the doctor late. However, this vitamin should be taken before pregnancy and at least in the first week at the latest.
Because, as you know, the fetus first forms a spinal column in the form of an embryo, the first neural tube, which will be formed after the whole body, the head, is formed in the first 3 weeks of pregnancy.
This neural tube, which does not find enough folic acid in the mother's blood and body, no longer develops weakly and strongly enough, and in acute deficits it no longer develops defectively.
Therefore, it is necessary for young women to start taking folic acid 3-5 months before pregnancy and then continue.
Every girl should take folic acid in a dose of 400 mcg prophylactically at a young age. For a non-pregnant person, the vitamin should be taken for 2-3 months, with a break of 2-3 months. For pregnant women, the dose is prescribed by a doctor, and it is high.
Even if a mother with acute folic acid deficiency has a normal birth and no severe cerebral palsy, the child will later suffer from various neurological diseases, mental and speech retardation, spinal problems, and limited mobility, and the child will need multiple treatments.
B9 is not stopped even after the baby is born, because the baby continues to receive it through breast milk.
Folic acid must be prescribed as an additional vitamin and nutritional supplement, because in an acute deficiency you will not be able to provide it with food alone.
But foods rich in folic acid should also be added to the menu:
- Beans, lentils
- Green vegetables, fruits, green leaves, greens
- Spinach
- Berries
- Citrus fruits
- Whole grain bread