Prevent Birth Defects with Folate Use

Cells depend on folate for growth and protection. Folate is a B vitamin that helps build cells in the small intestine, the blood, and during pregnancy. Folate is the vitamin responsible for providing the extra blood a woman needs during pregnancy. Folate is so important for pregnant women and women of child-bearing age that doctors recommend women take folate even before pregnancy occurs. Folate helps protect a developing baby from neural tube defects, which are defects that affect the spinal cord and brain. While certain foods are chock full of folate, there is a synthetic version of folate called folic acid. Folic acid is available as a supplement and is sometimes used to fortify foods.

Birth defects of the brain and spinal cord are neural tube defects. The two neural tube defects doctors worry about are spina bifida and anencephaly. Spina bifida is a defect that affects the spinal cord by not allowing the cord to close, sometimes causing nerve damage and paralysis. A baby with anencephaly has an undeveloped brain and usually does not live long after birth. Women who take folate a few weeks before pregnancy and during the beginning stages of pregnancy can decrease the risk of neural tube defects by 30 to 70 percent.

Folate is responsible for making DNA and RNA. It also helps build cells. These two components are important during the beginning stages of pregnancy. While folate plays an important part in preventing birth defects, women must remember that genetics and the family’s history of pregnancy also determines the health of a fetus.

Experts recommend that women get 400 micrograms of folate a day. The most common food source for folate is leafy green vegetables like spinach. Although there is an abundance of food sources for folate, most women do not meet the recommended daily allowance, which means the body does not store enough folate for pregnancy. Since the areas of the spine and brain form quite early in pregnancy, many times before a woman knows she’s pregnant, it’s important to take the recommended amount of folate each day. Other foods rich in folate include pinto beans, chickpeas, asparagus, chicken liver, lima beans, and fortified cereals.

A folate deficiency can cause neural tube defects, so it’s important that pregnant women have blood work done to rule out a folate deficiency. Any woman planning to become pregnant should have a folate blood test and follow the doctor’s recommendations if testing positive for a folate deficiency. Many doctors will recommend that pregnant women, and women planning to become pregnant, start taking folic acid supplements. Women can also increase their folic acid intake by eating cereals fortified with folic acid. Any cereal fortified with folic acid will have the amount listed on the side of the box. Any woman of child-bearing age that wants to lessen the risk of neural tube birth defects has an array of choices for increasing folate intake.