Preparing to eat folic acid during pregnancy and pregnancy is well known to many people, and at present, community hospitals in many areas will also provide folic acid tablets for free. Although we all obediently listen to the doctor's words and eat on time, there are still many questions, such as:
What is folic acid?
Why do you need folic acid supplementation at the beginning of pregnancy?
......
In addition, many friends actually have large and small misunderstandings in the process of taking folic acid daily. Today, with these questions in mind, the good mother will talk to you about folic acid.
Small folic acid, the effect is great
What is Folic Acid? This is the question that many people are exposed to folic acid for the first time. Simply put, folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin extracted from plants, which cannot be synthesized by the body itself and needs to be ingested from the outside world (food or medicine).
If there is a lack of folic acid during pregnancy, it will affect the normal development of the fetal brain and nervous system, and at worst, it will cause congenital malformations such as anencephaly and spina bifida, and may also cause miscarriage, premature birth, etc.
For expectant mothers, folate deficiency can also cause anemia, and in severe cases, it can also lead to anemia heart disease, pregnancy hypertension, eclampsia, spontaneous miscarriage, etc.
Take it scientifically and stay away from misunderstandings
Since the role of folic acid is so important, we must take it scientifically to maximize its effect. Next, good mother will take you to take a look at the 4 most common misunderstandings when taking folic acid, and see if you eat it right?
Myth 1: Folic acid is enough to eat until 3 months after pregnancy
It is rumored that folic acid can be eaten until 3 months after pregnancy, because this 3 months is the key to embryonic development. Is this really the case?
The Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents clearly state that women of childbearing age should supplement folic acid with 0.4 mg (equivalent to 1 folic acid tablet) daily starting with a planned pregnancy (up to 3 months before pregnancy) and continue throughout pregnancy.
This is because the first 3 months of pregnancy are a critical period for neural tube growth and development, and folic acid in the body to reach a stable level requires continuous folic acid supplementation for 3 months.
In fact, after 3 months of pregnancy, it is also necessary to supplement folic acid, because the fetus and mother still need a lot of folic acid to maintain the normality of other functions, otherwise it may cause megaloblastic anemia, preeclampsia, placental abruption and so on.
Myth 2: 0.4 mg of folic acid supplementation per day is the upper limit
We generally recommend pregnant mothers to take 0.4 mg (usually 1 tablet) folic acid supplement per day. But many attentive pregnant mothers will find that the folic acid content in the multivitamin is generally 0.8 mg. Does that mean overdose?
Pregnant mothers can relax their hearts, 0.4 mg does not represent the upper limit of folic acid supplements, long-term supplementation of folic acid within 1 mg is safe.
And in special cases we have to make up more. If you do not make up for it in advance during pregnancy, it is recommended to supplement folic acid in excess of 0.4 mg. Even for some special populations, such as babies who have previously been pregnant with neural tube malformations, the recommended oral folate dose is 5 mg per day.
However, it is still recommended to consult an obstetrician and gynecologist in advance for how much to increase the dose.
Myth 3: Food supplements are enough, there is no need to take medicine
There are indeed many foods rich in folic acid in daily life, such as dark green vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, meat and eggs, etc.
However, folic acid is unstable when exposed to light and heat, and it is easy to lose its activity, and the bioavailability of folic acid in food is very low, and the bioavailability of artificial folic acid (drugs) is 1.7 times that of food.
Therefore, it is not recommended to completely meet the nutritional needs of pregnancy by eating folic acid in the form of folic acid, and it is still necessary to obediently eat folic acid tablets.
Myth 4: Men must also eat folic acid when trying to conceive
Now it is very popular when the husband and wife to supplement folic acid tablets together "sweet" eating method, men prepare to eat folic acid during pregnancy, is it really necessary?
In fact, as long as men are not picky eaters, not partial to food, and have a balanced diet, they generally will not lack folic acid. Moreover, Dr. Liu Chunyu of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of peking University Third Hospital once pointed out in an article published by WeChat that there is currently no requirement or recommendation for men to supplement folic acid before pregnancy.
After talking so much, did you realize that a small piece of folic acid was also asked by the university. Follow a good mother, you will definitely be the one who is far away from misunderstandings and avoids deep pits on the road to pregnancy. Move your fingers, forward the article to your beloved her/him, and everyone prepares for pregnancy together scientifically.