Wen | condensed mother's understanding
I remember that when I first applied for a birth permit more than 10 years ago, the family planning station issued two boxes of folic acid, and I didn't know what it was for. Later, it was hearsay that I knew that I should eat folic acid when I was trying to get pregnant, but I didn't know when to eat, how much to eat, how to eat, and what to pay attention to.
After the two-child policy was liberalized, it was important to know folic acid, and it was limited to understanding that it was related to rabbit lips, and the more detailed information was still unknown. In the process of choosing folic acid and eating folic acid, I encountered many problems and spent my pregnancy in fear. Fortunately, there was no danger, and the child did not have an accident, which was very fortunate.
Now that the network is developed, don't eat folic acid like me, you must understand clearly before you prepare for pregnancy, make scientific and reasonable supplements, and truly achieve eugenics.
Combined with my experience, here are a few particularly important things to give friends some reference.
Why folic acid supplementation
Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, is involved in the neural tubes and brain development of the fetus. However, the human body cannot synthesize folic acid automatically and must rely on external supplementation.
If there is a lack of folic acid, it may lead to fetal neural tube malformations, underweight, premature birth, and cleft lip. Lack of folic acid may also cause hyperemic anemia and leukopenia, endangering the health of pregnant mothers and fetuses.
Normal adult women need folic acid 0.05-0.1 mg per day, and daily food can meet the needs. However, pregnant women need folic acid 0.3-0.4 mg per day, and additional supplements are needed if food supplements alone cannot adequately meet the needs.
If the amount of folic acid can be sufficient, the probability of neural tube defects can be reduced by 50-70%, and the occurrence of symptoms such as preeclampsia, pregnancy hyperesthesia, and anemia can be reduced, so that the pregnancy period is stable and the healthy development of the fetus is protected.
How to supplement folic acid
Folic acid supplementation is not done after pregnancy, but needs to be advanced to 3 months before pregnancy. Because the content of folic acid in the body requires a cumulative process, it is not possible to reach the required 0.3-0.4 mg after eating, it takes at least 4 weeks to reach a stable level, and 3 months is very sufficient.
The fetal nervous system will be developed in about 28 days, but it is found that the pregnancy is more than a month, and then it is replenished, and the time for nervous system development is missed, which is likely to affect the development of the nervous system. So be prepared early, and the fetus can absorb it whenever it needs it.
After the general direction is determined, it is refined to each day, that is, eat 0.4mg per day, do not eat more. Because folic acid itself is a trace element, it is useless to eat more.
Of course, there are also friends who will have a special situation and may need to supplement with a larger dose of folic acid. For example, there is a serious lack of folic acid, and a child with a neural tube deformity has been born. In this case, be sure to tell the doctor, ask the doctor to supplement the specific amount after diagnosis.
Which is better to choose for folic acid
Nowadays, family planning stations generally do not emit folic acid, and they need to purchase it themselves. But there are many types on the market, some multivitamins contain folic acid, some are pure folic acid, from my personal experience, it is recommended to choose pure folic acid.
Multivitamins, as the name suggests, contain a variety of vitamins, and if other vitamins are not deficient, more supplementation will not play a more beneficial role. In addition, whether the content of folic acid is sufficient is worth considering, and the price is particularly expensive.
And pure folic acid tablets, each piece is a certain 0.4mg, will not be less and will not be more, do not have to worry about the problem of insufficient supplementation, and the price is particularly cheap, suitable for expectant mothers to choose.
Folic acid supplementation precautions
Everyone's physical condition is different, generally speaking, it is necessary to supplement 0.4mg, but if you feel unwell after supplementation, you must stop decisively and do not make up for it.
When I was pregnant with my second child, as long as I took folic acid, there was bleeding, and as long as I stopped, it would get better. So, I didn't add as long as 3 months and stopped in less than a month.
At that time, I was very worried about fetal malformations, and I paid great attention to obstetric examinations, but fortunately, every obstetric examination was successful. The doctor also told me that if you are worried about folate deficiency, you can measure the amount of folic acid. This also gives you one more piece of information, don't panic when you encounter the same situation.
In addition, while supplementing folic acid, do not forget to eat supplements and eat more foods rich in folic acid. For example, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, cereals, legumes and so on.
Folic acid is unstable in nature, it is easy to lose its activity when encountering light, heat, acid, and ultraviolet rays, and it will also lose more than half of the folic acid during cooking and storage, so it prevents the loss of folic acid when eating.
For example, don't buy too many vegetables at a time to ensure freshness. If you can eat it raw, eat it raw, retaining the most abundant nutrients. After washing and cutting vegetables, stir-fry vegetables in time, stir-fry with rapid heat without slow heat, and lock in nutrition.
In short, you must not forget to supplement folic acid in preparation for pregnancy, which can prevent neural tube malformations to a large extent, prevent pre-eclampsia, anemia and other problems. Folic acid supplementation should be taken in the first 3 months of pregnancy, supplementing 0.4mg per day, while paying attention to food supplements. If you have problems with folic acid supplementation, stop immediately and seek help from your doctor.
I'm @Gelma Goku
Mother of two boys, more than 10 years of parenting experience
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