Today, the discussion is on a vitamin so crucial to the baby’s life during pregnancy that it’s usually given as supplements to pregnant women in order to avert the sometimes unforgivable consequences. The vitamin is vit B9, the folic acid.
Why is folic acid/folate so important? It’s required for DNA production. For anyone who bothered to listen during secondary school, DNA would sound familiar as essential components that make up the nucleus of virtually every human cell. For babies, why is folate important? They’re just starting to form everything. Even after birth, It’s required for normal growth and development throughout life. From cells to tissues to organs to systems, babies have to form quite a lot in 9 months. Do they need a lot of folate for this? You bet. What if they don’t get enough? It’s better imagined than experienced. Let’s find out why.
The brain and spinal cord develop from a part known as the neural days by 28 days after conception. If the neural tube doesn’t close properly, neural tube defects occur. Anencephaly is a condition in which the brain doesn’t develop properly. Actually, a more proper definition is that the brain doesn’t develop at all. Can anyone possibly survive without a brain? It’s highly improbable. In fact, the longest any baby has gone without a brain is one week. It’s always fatal. Other defects of the neural tube may not be that consequential. They include spina bifida, a defect of the spinal cord and its covering and encephalocele, a condition in which the brain bulges out through a skull defect. Babies born with spina bifida or encephalocele may face multiple surgeries, paralysis, and long-term disability. This does sound like a life sentence worse than death, somehow.
According to a 2015 review of studies maternal folic acid supplementation significantly decreases the risk of congenital heart defects. Congenital heart defects happen when the heart or blood vessels don’t grow normally before birth. All congenital heart defects have a particularly striking feature. It’s regarded as ‘failure to thrive’ in babies. They just don’t grow properly. They can however be corrected via expensive surgeries. Folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy may help prevent cleft lip and cleft palate. These birth defects occur if parts of the mouth and lip do not merge together properly.
The key is folate supplementation before and during pregnancy. All pregnant women should take at least 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. Because many women may not discover they’re pregnant until 6 weeks when these defects may have already well been established, women are advised to make folate intake a daily occurrence. Prior to pregnancy, taking food rich in folate such as vegetables might just be enough. During pregnancy, pills need to be taken. A doctor will advise best on this step.
Some foods may be fortified with folic acid and if discovered, adequate intake is advised. Don’t wait until pregnancy!
Reference: healthline.com
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