Are you planning on getting pregnant? If you are, consider the benefits of folic acid supplementation before you get pregnant. The evidence for the protective effects of taking folic acid against birth defects involving the spinal cord (neural tube defects) is well established. However, there may even be additional benefits to folic supplementation beyond birth defects. In a large study in Norway, where they do not fortify foods with folic acid, 39,000 mothers and infants were followed for folic acid supplementation and language development, specifically delays in language. Language delay was defined as limitation to speaking single words, or less, at age 3 years.
This study found that women who supplemented with folic acid starting 4 weeks before and 8 weeks into their pregnancy had children with a much less likelihood of experiencing language delay compared to children whose mothers did not supplement. This study stresses the importance of folic acid supplementation even before pregnancy. Folic acid plays a vital role in nervous system development in the fetus starting shortly after the baby is conceived. This is often a time period when many mothers do not suspect that they are pregnant and delay starting their prenatal or folic acid supplement until their pregnancy is confirmed. Potentially, the fetus’s nervous system is left to develop for this time period without this vital nutrient.
To learn more about preconception nutritional and dietary factors, and to develop a nutritional and dietary plan to optimize the mothers and infant’s health, please schedule a consultation with a Village Health Clinic Doctor by contacting us at 640-575-7275!
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