Dr. Brian McDonough on Folic Acid and Pregnancy

NEW YORK -- There are many arguments, pro and con, about taking certain vitamins and supplements, but there are little arguments about women taking folic acid if they are considering having a baby.

Here is a time-tested and well studied fact…babies may be born with neural tube defects that affect their brain or spinal cord if their mothers don’t get enough folic acid during their pregnancy.

It has been more than 15 years since the Public Health Service recommended that all women, age 15 to 44, who could become pregnant, take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. There are other sources, since 1998, The Food and Drug Administration has required that all enriched flour be fortified with folic acid.

The problem is that only about 1 out of 3 women get enough folic acid each day.

The brain and spinal cord…the neural tube develops early in pregnancy.

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