Why is folic acid important if I'm considering pregnancy?

Why is Folic Acid Important if I'm Considering Pregnancy?

400 micrograms of folic acid every day reduces the risk of neural tube defects by 50-70%!

However, you must take folic acid prior to pregnancy and during the first three months of pregnancy to reduce your risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect (NTD).


	Do you take a vitamin supplement?

Find out if your vitamin has the correct amount of folic acid:

Look on the back of the bottle for the "Supplement Facts" panel. Then look for "Folic Acid." The label will list how much folic acid is in each tablet.

Choose a product with 400 micrograms of folic acid per tablet or 100% Daily Value and only take one tablet per day. Keep vitamins out of reach of children.
If you find it difficult to take a vitamin pill every day, click here for some easy solutions.

Benefits of folic acid:

Folic acid reduces the risk of NTDs.
Folic acid may reduce the risk for:
- heart disease.
- certain cancers (colon and cervical).
- other birth defects.
Vitamins can improve overall health and vitality.

Some foods are fortified with folic acid. The Food and Drug Administration approved fortification to help women and teenage girls increase their intake of folic acid and to reduce the risk of NTDs.

Some examples of foods that are folic acid fortified are:

Enriched breads and rolls

Enriched pasta, noodles, and macaroni

Enriched flour

Enriched rice

Fortified breakfast cereal

The BEST way to ensure that you get 400 micrograms of folic acid every day is to take a folic acid supplement or multivitamin or eat a super-fortified breakfast cereal every day. You can get additional folic acid from folic acid fortified foods.

Fortified and Super-fortified Cereals:

How to Read the Labels

This cereal contains 100 micrograms of folic acid (25% Daily Value) in each one cup serving. It is considered a fortified cereal.

This cereal contains 400 micrograms of folic acid (100% Daily Value) in each one cup serving. It is considered a super- fortified cereal.

Remember, you must choose fortified cereals or foods that say "enriched" on the label.

Super-fortified cereals contain 400 micrograms of folic acid per serving!
One serving of fortified breakfast cereal contains 100 micrograms of folic acid.
One cup of enriched cooked rice contains 95 micrograms of folic acid.
One cup of enriched cooked spaghetti contains 90 micrograms of folic acid.
Other enriched grain products that contain folic acid include enriched breads, bagels, cereal bars, crackers, rolls, biscuits, and flour tortillas. ANY grain product that is made with enriched flour is a source of folic acid.

Go to "What is a neural tube defect?"

Continue to learn about food folate and how you can make small changes in your diet to include more folate.


			Folic Acid Every Day Send comments to webmaster at vbrad@ufl.edu Last updated 15 Dec 2000 About this site


		Why is Folic Acid Important if I'm Considering Pregnancy?

		400 micrograms of folic acid every day reduces the risk of neural tube defects by 50-70%!
	However, you must take folic acid prior to pregnancy and during the first three months of pregnancy to reduce your risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect (NTD).


			Look on the back of the bottle for the "Supplement Facts" panel. Then look for "Folic Acid." The label will list how much folic acid is in each tablet.
		Choose a product with 400 micrograms of folic acid per tablet or 100% Daily Value and only take one tablet per day. Keep vitamins out of reach of children. If you find it difficult to take a vitamin pill every day, click here for some easy solutions.


			This cereal contains 100 micrograms of folic acid (25% Daily Value) in each one cup serving. It is considered a fortified cereal.
			This cereal contains 400 micrograms of folic acid (100% Daily Value) in each one cup serving. It is considered a super- fortified cereal.