When the baby is developing early during pregnancy, folic acid helps form the neural tube. Folic acid is very important because it can help prevent some major birth defects of the baby's brain (anencephaly) and spine (spina bifida).
Folic acid is a vitamin found in many foods and multivitamin supplements. It's especially important for women who could become pregnant because folic acid can help prevent birth defects.
If you're pregnant, not having enough vitamin B12 can increase the risk of your baby developing a serious birth defect known as a neural tube defect. The neural tube is a narrow channel that eventually forms the brain and spinal cord.
If you're pregnant, you should avoid supplements and multivitamins containing vitamin A (retinol) - as too much of it can harm your baby's development. You should also avoid liver and liver products (including fish liver oil), as they are high in vitamin A.
Folic acid, also known as folate, is a B vitamin that is important for pregnant women. Folic acid may help prevent major birth defects of the fetus's brain and spine called neural tube defects (NTDs). How much folic acid should I take? When you are pregnant you need 600 micrograms of folic acid each day.
The Bottom Line. Vitamin C delivers a variety of health benefits, such as supporting a healthy immune system, but it also provides additional pregnancy-related benefits, too. It is safe to take Vitamin C while pregnant, and it's necessary for both mom-to-be and developing baby.
No studies have investigated the chance of birth defects in babies born to women taking vitamin B12 at any dose in pregnancy. However, there are 17 case reports of babies without birth defects born to women taking high dose vitamin B12 to treat methylmalonic acidemia in pregnancy.
Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive and are diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency should therefore receive vitamin B12 supplementation as recommended by their doctor.
Taking folic acid at high doses can hide a vitamin B12 deficiency. So these vitamins are often taken together.
For most birth defects, we think they are caused by a complex mix of factors. These factors include our genes (information inherited from our parents), our behaviors, and things in the environment.
Can birth defects be prevented? Though not all birth defects can be avoided, prenatal care and awareness of past or current conditions can help with prevention. Prenatal care. Taking a daily prenatal vitamin that includes at least 400 micrograms of folic acid can help prevent a variety of birth defects.
Taking zinc during pregnancy helps to slightly reduce preterm births, but does not prevent other problems such as low birthweight babies. Many women of childbearing age may have mild to moderate zinc deficiency.
Research has shown that Methyl B12, also known as methylcobalamin, can help relieve symptoms of autism. In the body, B12 assists with detoxification because it is a critical factor of the methylation pathway that helps the body make the powerful antioxidant, glutathione.
Vitamin B12: Cobalamin
Vitamin B12 is important for maintaining the health of your nervous system, but it's also believed that when combined with folic acid during pregnancy, B12 supplements can help to prevent spina bifida and other spinal and central nervous system birth defects in your baby, too.
Magnesium supplementation during pregnancy may be able to reduce growth restriction of the fetus and pre‐eclampsia (high blood pressure and protein in the urine during pregnancy), and increase birthweight.
A new study observes that elevated maternal serum levels of vitamin B12 were significantly associated with the prevalence of childhood autism in offspring, in the large-scale Finnish population studied.
Maternal vitamin B12 levels were measured during first and early second trimesters of pregnancy. High maternal vitamin B12 levels (≥81th percentile) was associated with increased risk for offspring childhood autism, adjusted odds ratio, 1.59, 95% confidence interval 1.06–2.41 (p = 0.026).
In fact, most reports find that FA protects against ASD (4). Paradoxically, given the known importance of folate for normal development, there is some concern that there could be adverse effects of high exposure. These could result from high FA intake or unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA) in serum.
Although data on the safety of higher doses are lacking, most experts agree that supplemental vitamin D is safe in dosages up to 4,000 international units per day during pregnancy or lactation 12.
Quality fish oil is safe to take during pregnancy. Fresh fish can often contain environmental toxins like mercury that accumulate during its life span. These toxins can be virtually eliminated during the manufacture and processing of fish oil, with the use of high-quality raw materials and an advanced refining process.