well-being nutrition
take your folic acid
Benefi ts, sources and why you need it every day FROM THE MARCH OF DIMES
Good for you and your baby, folic acid is a B vitamin that every cell in your body needs for healthy growth and development. Women of childbearing age taking 400 micrograms of fo- lic acid daily before and during early pregnancy may help reduce their baby’s risk for birth defects of the brain and spine, known as neural tube defects (NTDs). The neural tube is part of a developing baby that becomes the brain and spinal cord. An NTD can happen when the
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neural tube doesn’t close completely. Some studies show that folic acid also may help prevent heart defects in a baby, and may help prevent cleft lip and cleft palate, which are birth defects in a baby’s mouth.
Who Should Take Folic Acid All women, even if they are not trying to get pregnant, should take folic acid. Folic acid helps prevent NTDs only if
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