While some physicians still don’t agree on the use of nutritional supplements over all, pregnancy is one time in a woman’s life that doctors agree they need supplementation. More and more doctors are realising that women who are trying to get pregnant need to be taking supplements-especially folic acid.

Women who are taking at least 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid prior to becoming pregnant substantially decrease the risk of their child having a neural tube defect (spina bifida or hydrocephalus). This protection does not occur when supplements are begun two to three weeks after a woman discovers she is pregnant. Therefore, if there is even a slight possibility of becoming pregnant, a woman should be taking nutritional supplements.

Please note that the claim about folate cannot imply that adequate folate intake alone will ensure a healthy baby, since so many factors can affect a pregnancy and women should bear this in mind when contemplating pregnancy, advises Jeanne Latham, a registered dietitian and consumer safety officer in FDA’s Office of Special Nutritionals. “Folate can make a significant contribution,” she said, “many factors, including an overall good diet, are involved in having a healthy baby.”

Article source: July 1996 FDA Consumer revised February 1999

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