Folic acid is important before and during pregnancy, not only to avoid some fetal malformations but also to prevent the risk of low birth weight
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The importance offolic acid (Vitamin B9) for women who are planning a pregnancy has already been ascertained by many researches that have shown that this vitamin is able to prevent some congenital malformations of the fetus including spina bifida. But now a new study adds an important detail: taking folic acid during pregnancy lowers the risk of the baby being underweight at birth.
It is no coincidence that gynecologists recommend hiring a 0,4 mg folic acid supplement starting from the months preceding the actual conception, that is, from the moment you want and make the first attempts to have a baby. This is because it has been shown that having a good level of this vitamin in the body even before starting the actual pregnancy is important for the mother but above all for the development and health of the unborn child.
The new research, conducted by a team from Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals and published in the International Journal of Obstetrics and gynaecology, wanted to evaluate another aspect linked to the intake of folic acid, namely the ability of this vitamin to affect the weight of the baby at birth. The low birth weight it is an important aspect to consider as it has been associated with both a higher risk of neonatal mortality than the appearance in adulthood of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
To carry out the study, samples were taken 108 British women (mean age 28 years) of normal weight, 42% of them were in their first pregnancy and 82% did not smoke. What the researchers were able to notice is that infants with a birth weight below the 90th percentile (i.e. when 10% of all infants at the time of birth are heavier, while only 13,8% have lower values), it was 16,3% if the mothers had taken folina during pregnancy but rose to XNUMX% if they hadn't.
Also in this case the greatest benefits they had registered for those babies whose mothers had started take folic acid already before pregnancy. In this case, the risk of low birth weight dropped to 9,9%.
We remember that folic acid is a vitamin that is always good for you and we all need, beyond pregnancy. To integrate it in normal situations, just follow a correct diet, perhaps increasing the intake of those foods that contain more.
Read also:
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