January 4-10 is Folic Acid Awareness Week: Did you take your folic acid today?

 

January 4–10 is National Folic Acid Awareness Week. CDC urges every woman who could become pregnant to get 400 micrograms (400 mcg) of folic acid every day.

There are 3,000 pregnancies affected by spina bifida or anencephaly, which are neural tube defects caused by the incomplete development of the brain and spinal cord. If women take 400 mcg of folic acid daily, before and during pregnancy, they can help reduce their risk of having a pregnancy affected by a neural tube by up to 70%.

What is folic acid?

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Folic acid is a B vitamin. Our bodies use it to make new cells and can help prevent serious birth defects of the brain and the spine. If a woman has enough folic acid in her body before she is pregnant, it can help prevent serious birth defects of her baby's brain and spine. These birth defects are neural tube defects or NTDs. Women need to take folic acid every day, starting before they are pregnant to help prevent NTDs.

Read more: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/FolicAcid/

Source:  Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) -- www.cdc.gov