MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Folic acid and birth defect prevention

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Folic acid and birth defect prevention

Contents of this page:
Illustrations Alternative Names	Information

Illustrations

First trimester of pregnancy

Folic acid

Early weeks of pregnancy

Alternative Names Return to top

Prevention of birth defects with folic acid (folate)

Information Return to top

Question:

Does folic acid use help prevent birth defects?

Answer:

There is good evidence that the risk of certain birth defects (spina bifida and anencephaly) are reduced by taking a daily dose of 400 micrograms folic acid, from 1 month before conception through the first trimester of pregnancy. Therefore, if you would like to become pregnant in the near future, you should take a multivitamin with this amount of folic acid.

Women who had a baby with a neural tube defect will need a higher dose of folic acid during this period. If you have had a baby with a neural tube defect, you should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day even when you are not planning to become pregnant. If you plan to become pregnant, you should talk to your doctor and increase your folic acid intake to 4 milligrams each day during the month before you become pregnant until at least the 12th week of pregnancy.

Update Date: 12/1/2005

Updated by: Sharon Roseanne Thompson, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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