Folic Acid May Help Avoid Premature Births

If you are a pregnant woman, you must have surely come across the words ‘folic acid’. This is a nutrient that provides many advantages to you and your baby, in consumed in the right quantities. There are some amazing benefits of the folic acid that you can find here, in the next few lines of the article.

Understand Folic Acid

• When pregnant, the unborn baby’s spinal cord and brain develops, due to the neural tube. The proper functioning of the neural tube requires adequate amount of red blood cells in the body. Presence of folic acid enhances the supply of the RBCs and hence, its deficiency can cause problems.
• There are a variety of defects that can occur when there is a deficiency of folic acid in your body. Cleft palate, miscarriage, low birth weight of the child and many more defects can be seen. The B9 vitamin deficiency reduces the chances of the child being healthy and by simply consuming enough folic acid.

When Should One Take Folic Acid?

• You must always have doubts regarding the consumption of supplements that have folic acid and any woman of childbearing age and with the smallest chances of becoming pregnant, must take supplements of folic acid.
• Birth defects normally take place during the earlier stages of pregnancy and most women, when pregnant for the first time, do not realize that they have conceived and hence, cause a lot of unintentional damage to their babies. Thus, it is recommended that one remains vigilant about one’s pregnancy and makes sure that proper supplements are taken. If proper supplements are not taken, you might be risking your baby’s life.
• Women during the childbearing age require about 400 micrograms of folic acid and during pregnancy, more than 600 micrograms is required. During breastfeeding, about 500 micrograms of folic acid has to be consumed.

How Does A Person Get Folic Acid?

• There are many types of food in which you can find folic acid present and green leafy vegetables prove to be the best source for you. Citrus fruits, bananas, pasta, bread and other cereals also are good source of folic acids and a good diet is one that has the right amount of folic acid.
• Moreover, there are several supplements that provide folic acid and one good way of getting hold of this nutrient is by consuming prenatal vitamin supplements. They are available in several forms and are normally suggested by doctors to their patients. It is recommended that you suggest your doctor with regard to the consumption of the prenatal vitamin supplements because there can be a few that the body might not require and excess vitamins can also cause a lot of problems.

Last but not the least, it is recommended that you understand the importance of taking in the various nutrients along with folic acid and it is recommended that you take in all the necessary nutrients for the proper growth of your baby, without any birth defects taking place.