Folic Acid and Prenatal / Preconception Vitamins Sections for
Prenatal Care – Care Before and During Pregnancy - Prenatal Care
– Care Before and During Pregnancy - Folic Acid and Prenatal /
Preconception Vitamins Folic acid (also known as vitamin B9 or
folacin) and folate (the naturally occurring form) is an
important nutrient for women who may become pregnant, because a
women’s blood levels of folate fall during pregnancy due to an
increased maternal RBC synthesis in the fist half of the
pregnancy and fetal demands in the second half. The first four
weeks of pregnancy (when most women do not even realize they are
pregnant) require folic acid for proper development of the
brain, skull, and spinal cord. Serious birth defects like neural
tube defects are less likely to occur when women take 0.4 mg of
folic acid daily. Adequate folate intake during the
periconceptional period, the time right before and just after a
woman becomes pregnant, helps protect against a number of
congenital malformations. Folate in food