What are the symptoms of folic acid deficiency?

It is also very important for pregnant women, as it can promote the healthy development of the baby. Once folic acid deficiency occurs, it will affect the baby's good development, and may even induce miscarriage, cause fetal malformations, etc. For pregnant women, when folic acid deficiency occurs, it may lead to loss of appetite, weight loss, accelerated heartbeat, etc., and it may also cause symptoms such as iron deficiency anemia in pregnant women.

What are the symptoms of folic acid deficiency?

The symptoms of folic acid deficiency are not very obvious. They may be just diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. They may also cause weakness, sore throat, headache, rapid heartbeat, and irritability.

Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia, but it is not the only one. Since folic acid helps keep the blood in the body healthy, insufficient folic acid intake may also cause anemia in pregnant mothers. Anemia caused by folic acid deficiency has similar symptoms of fatigue and weakness to iron deficiency anemia, and people may become angry and irritable.

In addition, studies have shown that folic acid deficiency may cause changes in skin color or aggravate existing skin discoloration.

If you are only mildly deficient in folic acid, you may not notice any symptoms at all, but you will not be providing the optimal amount of folic acid needed for your baby's early embryonic development.

How to supplement folic acid before pregnancy

1. Critical period for folic acid supplementation

During the fetal period, brain development occurs earliest and most rapidly; early pregnancy (3 to 6 weeks) is the critical period for the growth and development of the fetal central nervous system.

The embryo forms primitive brain vesicles at the fourth week of pregnancy. Although the fetus is only about 3 cm long and its weight has only increased by more than 2 grams at the eighth week, its brain cells proliferate rapidly at this time and are most susceptible to teratogenic factors. If folic acid is supplemented at this critical time, the risk of neural tube disease in the fetus can be reduced by 50% to 70%.

2. Mom and Dad make up together

Pregnant mothers are sometimes careless in the early stages of pregnancy and are not sure if they are pregnant, and may miss the best time to supplement folic acid.

Some experts suggest that women who may be pregnant or planning to have a baby should take folic acid supplements every day to prevent themselves from being caught off guard when the baby arrives. For men who are planning to become fathers, insufficient folic acid will reduce the concentration of semen and may also cause abnormal chromosome separation in sperm, which will bring a great possibility of serious diseases to the future baby. For those who are planning to have a baby, don’t forget to take folic acid supplements!

3. Supplement 600 mg per day

The total amount of folic acid in the human body is about 5 to 6 mg, but the human body cannot synthesize folic acid by itself and can only be absorbed from food.

The baby continues to grow and develop in the mother's body, and the mother's folic acid is transferred to him through the placenta. As the placental tissue and uterus continue to grow, the demand for folic acid becomes greater and greater. If it is not supplemented consciously, the folic acid level will decrease.

Experts believe that pregnant mothers need to supplement 600 to 800 micrograms of folic acid every day to meet the baby's growth needs and their own needs.