Is it useful to take folic acid after pregnancy?

As we all know, folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin. Many pregnant women use it when they are preparing for pregnancy or in the first three months of pregnancy. Many expectant mothers do not take folic acid after a few months of pregnancy, fearing that not taking it will affect the child, and they are also worried that taking it in the later stages of pregnancy will also have some effects on the baby. Many expectant mothers want to know whether taking folic acid after pregnancy is effective?

First, is it effective to take folic acid after pregnancy? Nowadays, many families can only have one child, so having a healthy baby naturally becomes the top priority for every couple of childbearing age. If you want to have a healthy baby, the first thing you should do is to supplement folic acid to keep your baby away from the risk of neural tube defects. So, is it useful to take folic acid after pregnancy? After discovering pregnancy, it is still necessary to take folic acid tablets as long as it is within 3 months of pregnancy. Folic acid plays an important role in cell division and growth, and the synthesis of nucleic acids, amino acids and proteins. It is an indispensable nutrient for the growth and development of the fetus. The first three months of pregnancy are a critical period for fetal neural development. If the expectant mother lacks folic acid at this time, it can easily lead to fetal neural tube defects and increase the incidence of spina bifida and anencephaly. Therefore, Director Wu recommends that folic acid tablets should be taken starting from the third month of pregnancy until the last three months of pregnancy. Given that there are many people with unexpected pregnancies, couples of childbearing age should take folic acid tablets regardless of whether they are planning pregnancy or not.

Second, however, it should be noted that the more folic acid supplementation is not necessarily better. Excessive folic acid intake may cause dementia in babies. It is necessary to take folic acid tablets, but excessive intake of folic acid not only fails to prevent fetal malformations, but can easily lead to zinc deficiency in expectant mothers. If the expectant mother continues to be zinc deficient, it may cause dementia in the baby. Some expectant mothers not only take folic acid tablets, but also consume various nutritional supplements, such as milk powder for pregnant women, multivitamin tablets, etc. Multivitamin tablets and some milk powder for pregnant women contain folic acid. If expectant mothers only take one multivitamin tablet or drink milk powder for pregnant women, it is generally safe for them. However, if you take folic acid tablets at the same time, you may overdose. The average folic acid intake for expectant mothers is 0.4 mg/day. If the expectant mother has a family history of neural tube defects, she should consult a doctor and increase the dosage appropriately.

Is it useful to take folic acid after pregnancy? Folic acid is an indispensable nutrient for fetal development. Pregnant mothers can supplement folic acid in advance to prevent anemia in pregnant women, and it can also reduce the occurrence of preeclampsia in late pregnancy. In addition, taking folic acid can reduce the probability of congenital diseases in babies. Folic acid is very effective and can be supplemented through diet or by taking folic acid tablets. The main functions of folic acid are: Preventing anemia in pregnant women: The body of a pregnant woman needs folic acid to produce normal red blood cells. The survey shows that the prevalence of anemia among Chinese women of childbearing age is 20.6%. Insufficient folic acid intake may also cause anemia in pregnant women.