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What is folic acid?
Why is folic acid good for you?
How can you get folic acid?
How much folic acid should you take?
See also:
Folic acid (or folate) is a vitamin (vai-te-mihn). Vitamins are found in foods and help make your body work right.
When you are pregnant, folic acid can help keep your baby from having bad health problems. If you don't get enough folic acid, your baby may get these problems:
Spina bifida (spy-nuh bif-uh-duh): your baby's spine doesn't form right.
Anencephaly (an-en-seffelee): the baby doesn't have a brain or has only part of a brain and can't live.
You can keep these problems from happening. Take folic acid before you get pregnant and in the first 3 months while you're pregnant. You may think you don't need folic acid now if you don't plan to have a baby soon. It's still a good idea to take folic acid, so it's in your body if you do get pregnant. Plus, it could also help lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.
| The best way to get folic acid is to take a vitamin pill that has folic acid in it. |  |
You can also eat foods that have folic acid in them. Here are some:
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Some foods have folic acid added to them, like:
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Look at the package and the food label to see if the foods have folic acid in them. Find foods that say they have folic acid. The label will tell you how much folic acid is in vitamin pills and foods. Sometimes, the label will say folate instead of folic acid. It is the same thing.
Vitamin Label
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Food Label
Find folate. Read across to see how much folic acid is in your food. |
Read the descriptions below to see how much folic acid you should take. Check off the one that applies to you.
You are able to get pregnant. Take 400mcg (or .4mg) of folic acid every day.
You are pregnant. Take 600mcg (or .6mg) of folic acid every day.
You are breastfeeding. Take 500mcg (or .5mg) of folic acid every day.
You had a baby with spina bifida or anencephaly and want to get pregnant again. Take 4000mcg (or 4mg) of folic acid every day. Start one month before you get pregnant and take folic acid during the first three months of pregnancy.
You had a baby with spina bifida or anencephaly and don't want to get pregnant. Take 400mcg (or .4mg) of folic acid every day.
Even if you take folic acid, you should still see your health care provider. She can make sure you and your baby are healthy.
You can find out more about folic acid from the National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) at (800) 994-WOMAN (9662) or from these organizations:
National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Centers
Phone Number(s): (888) 232-6789
Internet Address: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Phone Number(s): (888) 723-3366
Internet Address: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation
Phone Number(s): (888) 663-4637
Internet Address: http://www.modimes.org
Spina Bifida Association of America
Phone Number(s): (800) 621-3141
Internet Address: http://www.sbaa.org/index.shtml
All material contained in the FAQs is free of copyright restrictions, and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services; citation of the source is appreciated.
March 2003
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Find folic acid. Read across to see
how much folic acid is in your vitamin. 