Folic acid requirements during pregnancy
Medical professionals recommend that women take a folic acid supplement in addition to eating a regular healthy diet both before and during pregnancy. Total recommended intake of folic acid is between 400 ug (0.4 mg) and 600 ug (0.6 mg) per day.1 Women who follow these guidelines are less likely to have babies with certain birth defects, especially neural tube defects.
Women who have had a previous pregnancy with a neural tube defect have an increased need for folic acid, and experts recommend they take a higher dose—4000 ug (4 mg)—until after the first trimester of pregnancy.2
| Author: | Douglas Dana Ralph Poore | Last Updated: April 23, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine Brian Leber, MDCM, FRCPC - Hematology | |
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