Patient's question:
I saw online that if you want to get pregnant, you need to take folic acid three months in advance. But I am now more than a month pregnant, but I have never taken folic acid. Do I need to take folic acid now? Also, can I take vitamins and calcium pills now? Thank youDoctor's answer:
Hello:What is folic acid?
Folic acid is an important B vitamin, named after its first isolation from spinach. As the importance of folic acid in the diet has gradually been recognized, especially with the deepening research on its association with birth defects, cardiovascular diseases, and tumors, folic acid has become an extremely important micronutrient.
The Importance of Folic Acid for Fetuses and Pregnant Women
Folic acid is very important for women of childbearing age and pregnant women. In 1964, Hibbard and Smithells studied the correlation between maternal folic acid deficiency and fetal malformations, finding that the incidence of teratogenesis in pregnant women with folic acid deficiency was five times higher than in those without folic acid deficiency. Subsequently, experiments conducted in 31 hospitals across 7 countries in the UK, Hungary, Australia, and others concluded that a lack of folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy is the main cause of neural tube defects in fetuses.
Neural tube closure occurs during the 3-4 weeks of embryonic development. A deficiency in folic acid can lead to neural tube failure to close, resulting in neural tube defects primarily characterized by spina bifida and anencephaly, which are central nervous system developmental abnormalities. Anencephaly is a severe form of brain developmental disorder with cranial bone defects, often leading to death before or shortly after birth. While children with spina bifida can survive, they often suffer from lifelong disabilities, causing significant losses for both the nation and families.
According to surveys conducted by the China Women and Children's Health Center and the Japan Association for Pre-natal and Post-natal Health, China has one of the highest rates of brain and spinal cord defects in children worldwide. Approximately 100,000 pregnant women give birth to children with brain and spinal cord defects each year, meaning that for every 1,000 newborns,