An essential ingredient for a healthy pregnancy

Vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber and carbohydrates—all together create that perfect platter for you. But in case you are a would-be mother, or considering starting your family, do you know that you need your share of folic acid too? It is critical to ensure sufficient amount of folic acid in the diet of mothers –to-be, as it can help prevent serious health complications in the baby and the mother, within the first few weeks of pregnancy, before the woman even knows she is pregnant.

Maintaining required amount of folic acid from three months prior to pregnancy till the first trimester is essential, to prevent neural tube defects (NTD’s) i.e. serious birth defects of the spinal cord and brain of the infant. Therefore, even when a woman is planning to have a baby, she should consume foods rich in folic acid.

Foods that are rich in folic acid include spinach, broccoli, sunflower seeds, black beans, fresh orange juice, peanuts, lentils and whole-wheat cereals. Apart from natural food that contains folic acid; pregnant women are also advised to consume folic acid tablets, a recommended dose of five milligrams of folic acid per day. If the advisable levels of folic acid are not maintained it may, not only harm the health of the child born but can also increase the risk of anemia in the mother.

Proper amount of folic acid can reduce the risk of various complications in the child and the mother. Below mentioned are some health risks that can be avoided by just maintaining proper levels of folic acid:

In the baby proper levels of folic acid can help avoid the risk of:
• Neural tube defects
• Cleft lip and palate
• Premature birth
• Poor growth in the womb
• Miscarriage

In the mother proper levels of folic acid can help avoid the risk of:
• Heart disease
• Anemia
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s disease (The writer is Gynecologist, Columbia Asia Hospital,Whitefield)

By Dr Lalitha Sudha Alaparthi