A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.
How true! Every mother wishes to be blessed with a healthy child. A baby is born healthy when mothers take care of their own health even before they conceive.
Did you know that seventy percent of serious birth defects called neural tube defects (NTD) can be prevented by taking folic acid daily? These defects are formed during the first four weeks of pregnancy.
This means, the defects are formed even before you know that are pregnant! That is exactly why you should be taking folic acid even before you get pregnant.
How does folic acid prevent birth defects?
Folic acid is a naturally occurring B vitamin that helps a baby’s neural tube’the part of a developing baby that becomes the brain and spinal cord’develop properly. It is advised that women take the folic acid supplements before and during early pregnancy when the neural tube is developing. 400 micrograms/day is the recommended dose for women though it might be increased if you were at a risk in your earlier pregnancy or if you were anemic.
Folic acid in natural resources: While’s it’s good to take folic acid in the form of supplements, try to consume foods that are rich in folic acid like spinach, lentils, asparagus, black beans, peanuts, sprouts, broccoli and lettuce.
So, take care of your health in advance and enjoy you pregnancy without worries.
