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Want a baby? Take folic acid a year in advance!

Want a baby? Take folic acid a year in advance! Folic acid is a vitamin supplementation which is officially recommended for women who want to put a baby on the way, a few weeks before conception. A new study confirms that he would rather take the vitamin at least one year before conception ... Explanations.

Folic acid and prevention of defects in neural tube closure


A neural tube defect is a congenital malformation. The neural tube is formed between the 20th and 28th day after conception. Some fetal cells withdraw into themselves, as to form a tube which then give rise to the vertebral column, spinal cord and brain. Sometimes it happens that the neural tube closes poorly or incompletely, causing serious birth defects (spina bifida and anencephaly, essentially).

The occurrence of such abnormal neural tube closure was linked to a deficiency in folic acid, also known as vitamin B9 or folate because of its abundant presence in vegetables green leaves.

Thus, health authorities recommend women to supplement with folic acid (0.4 mg / day) at least 4 weeks before conception and continuing until 8 weeks thereafter.

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