Folic acid
What you need to know and remember!
When you start to think that you are ready for pregnancy and childbirth, you should start taking folic acid.
Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin, vitamin B9, and folate is a natural nutrient derived from folic acid.
Folate plays a significant role in:
- hematopoiesis,
- synthesis of amino acids, vitamins, nucleic acids (DNA, RNA),
- promote placental maturation,
- have estrogen-like and anti-teratogenic effects. But the most important thing to know!
Maintaining a sufficient level of folate in the body plays a major role in the prevention of congenital malformations and especially neural tube defects and congenital heart defects.
Folic acid helps detoxify the amino acid homocysteine, which can have a toxic effect on the cell, and is involved in the process of DNA synthesis and complete cell division. Due to these processes, which are necessary for the healthy development of the fetus, folic acid in sufficient quantities is essential for pregnant women.
However, when a woman finds out about the pregnancy and comes to register, it is already the gestation period, usually from 6 weeks and above and the intake of folic acid is prescribed late. Since the formation of the neural tube is completed by the 18-28th day of gestation. In this regard, it is advisable to prescribe folate in a dosage of 400 mcg / day for 3 months before conception and in the 1st trimester of pregnancy. But there is another nuance, synthetic folic acid may not be absorbed by every second woman, as there may be reduced activity or no enzyme that converts folic acid into active folate. Due to this fact, women can be prescribed directly active folate, rather than folic acid itself.
The use of folic acid in combination with active folate ensures the achievement of the desired result in all women, especially in the process of preparation for pregnancy and in its first places.
The staff of the UBL clinic wishes you good health!
