Patient's question:
When applying for the maternity certificate, the doctor mentioned that folic acid should be supplemented in the three months before pregnancy and the first three months of pregnancy. If you take Fergason brand prenatal nutrition soft capsules during pregnancy to supplement folic acid (recommended by the doctor during the lecture), will it be harmful to the fetus? In the end, the doctor also suggested getting the rubella vaccine. I heard that you cannot get pregnant within three months. I would like to ask how long the effectiveness of a single dose of the rubella vaccine lasts?Doctor's answer:
Hello: As long as it is injected, you will not get sick again! However, folic acid must be actively supplemented. Women should take 0.4 milligrams of folic acid supplements daily from one month before pregnancy to three months after pregnancy to prevent most neural tube defects in the fetus. It is worth mentioning that women taking folic acid should do so under the guidance of a doctor. Additionally, the following points should be noted:1. It must be taken one month before pregnancy. The purpose of emphasizing the need to start taking folic acid before pregnancy is to maintain a certain level of folic acid in women's bodies to ensure a better folic acid nutritional status in the early stages of embryonic development. According to research, it takes four weeks for women to correct a folic acid deficiency after taking folic acid. This way, during the sensitive period of fetal neural tube formation in the early stages of pregnancy, sufficient folic acid can meet the needs of nervous system development. Moreover, it must be taken consistently during the first three months of pregnancy for the best preventive effect.
2. Women in areas with a low incidence of neural tube defects in China should also supplement folic acid. The incidence of neural tube defects in China is higher in northern areas than in southern areas and higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Therefore, some people believe that women in low-incidence areas can skip folic acid supplementation during pregnancy. However, this misconception may become a hidden risk for the birth of children with neural tube defects. According to surveys, a significant proportion of women of childbearing age in low-incidence areas still lack folic acid. Therefore, women in low-incidence areas must not be complacent before pregnancy.
3. Can taking folic acid supplements guarantee that you won't have a child with a neural tube defect? Taking folic acid supplements is to prevent folic acid deficiency in pregnant women'