It is important for a pregnant woman to monitor proper nutrition. In her diet, fresh vegetables and fruits, cereals and sour-milk dishes must be present daily. It is important to eat enough proteins that are found in fish, meat and eggs. Do not forget about parsley and dill. In addition to healthy foods, you need to take vitamin preparations. After all, the growing fetus must be provided with vitamins and microelements coming from the outside world. The appointment of vitamin B9 is often practiced by gynecologists. How to take folic acid during pregnancy? We will deal with this issue further.
Chemical characterization
When planning a child’s birth, a woman should start drinking vitamins in advance so that her body prepares for the difficult process of bearing a new life. An element such as folic acid belongs to a variety of B9 vitamins. If a person has no health problems, then his body contains this substance in a volume of 5 to 20 mg. Moreover, half the serving is in a body such as the liver.
This vitamin is not characterized by preliminary accumulation in the female body, therefore, daily replenishment of this useful substance is required. According to gynecologists conducting pregnancy, from 67 to 77% of expectant mothers suffer from its deficiency. Only a specialist determines exactly how much to drink folic acid during pregnancy. As a rule, people tolerate the intake of this vitamin well, an allergic rash is found in extremely rare cases.
Causes of Vitamin Deficiency
The lack of nutrients significantly affects the normal course of pregnancy at each of the periods. There may be several reasons for the lack of a folic component:
- A woman eats few vitamins with food. She does not monitor her diet, does not care about its benefits. Or beneficial components disappear when the food is cooked. As you know, then about 90% of the vitamin evaporates. The source of folic acid is considered to be a raw product. The way out of the situation is to get vitamin B9 from natural sources - leaves of greenery growing in the garden, chicken liver, meat, cheese, caviar, egg yolk, legumes, tomatoes, sunflower seeds.
- The growth of the body's requirements in the state of gestation. This is especially true when the fruit grows rapidly, its tissues are updated. When a baby is successfully born, it is also important for a woman who is breastfeeding to receive a sufficient amount of such acid to pass it to the baby along with mother's milk.
- A pregnant woman has a violation of the processes of the intestines. It cannot absorb important elements. Then, vitamin B9 deficiency needs to be restored by taking a chemical preparation.
Doctors note the fact that folic acid is absorbed better when a woman takes this substance in the form of tablets.
How does vitamin B9 work?
In search of an answer to the question of how much folic acid to drink during pregnancy, we study the mechanism of influence of the components of this substance. The principle of operation is based on the studied properties of genetic material from DNA helices that are capable of doubling. This process is supported by folic acid, which also helps to synthesize ribonucleic acid, amino acids, improves the body's absorption of iron. If there is not enough vitamin, cells cannot multiply safely at an active pace.
The role of folic acid is difficult to overestimate:
- needed for the successful development of all the organs and tissues of the baby;
- Helps the full development of the embryo;
- takes care of improving the quality of the blood.
Such help should be present from the first days of pregnancy. After all, the formation of future brain regions begins in the second week after conception. Even then, the embryo risks getting defects in the development of the nervous system in the presence of even a short-term deficiency of useful substances.
Vitamin B9 not only creates fetal cells, but also is able to change the cells of the female body, form all the formed elements of the blood.
With a normal amount of this vitamin, a pregnant woman feels a charge of vivacity:
- is in a good mood;
- its metabolic processes occur without deviations;
- stimulation of appetite is provided as soon as a woman looks at food;
- hydrochloric acid is actively produced in the stomach.
What is the danger of folic acid deficiency?
The neural tube of the fetus risks getting defects up to complete disability or the threat of miscarriage if such a deficiency is present. A pregnant woman may not properly form the placenta, there is a risk of miscarriage, the birth of a dead child. According to research, in most cases you can protect yourself from such risks if you start taking vitamin preparations at the planning stage of pregnancy. Do not stop taking the vitamin when the baby is already born. Now the mother can transfer the beneficial substances to the baby through breast milk. A woman herself, thanks to taking folic acid, will be able to defeat postpartum depression, apathy, weakness, and increase the volume of breast milk.
If such a substance is not enough, the following deviations from the norm are observed:
- anemia;
- insufficient weight gain;
- the protective reaction of the body decreases;
- disrupted intestines.
How much to take vitamin B9
The dosage of folic acid during pregnancy requires adjustment by specialists. The instructions for this drug indicate that for a person in a normal state, the volume of vitamin is 50 micrograms. If there is an increased need, as is the case with a pregnant woman, the dose increases many times. Russian doctors recommend an opening of the drug in an amount of 400 mg for a person in normal condition. Pregnant need from 600 mg to 1 g of such a substance. Americans set standards twice as high, trusting in the beneficial properties of folic components.
The indicators of the norm of folic acid during pregnancy are directly dependent on the woman's analyzes and the timing of gestation. It is recommended to take one tablet of the drug per day in a volume of 1 g. The dosage of folic acid during pregnancy will be increased if the woman needs treatment - up to 5 mg per day with a course duration of 20 to 30 days. The purpose of this drug in a large dose will be needed for expectant mothers who have already had experience giving birth to children suffering from a lack of vitamin B9. Moreover, the drug is best to start drinking 3 months before the planned conception.
How safe is it to drink B9
Taking folic acid during pregnancy at the dosage prescribed by your gynecologist will not harm the expectant mother and her baby. This drug is not toxic even with prolonged use, which is confirmed by a number of studies. But excessive consumption of this substance can decrease the amount of vitamin B12. Such processes are dangerous in that they can lead to the development of anemia. Also, due to an increase in dosage, problems with the gastrointestinal tract may appear, nervous excitability will increase, undesirable processes in the kidneys will occur.
It will be necessary to cancel the drug only if the woman has an allergy. If there are no such problems, it is important to take regular vitamin B9 intake. If you forgot to take the pill at the scheduled time, try to do it the next day.
Features of simultaneous administration with certain drugs
The instructions for folic acid during pregnancy contain information on the characteristics of taking this vitamin simultaneously with other medicines. Taking folic acid in combination with vitamins B12 and C, as well as taking bifidobacteria, allows you to increase the synthesis of nutrients in the large intestine.
It is harmful to combine vitamin B9 intake with alcoholic drinks and antacids. Then folic acid will be much worse absorbed by the intestines. Also, the instructions for folic acid during pregnancy indicate that this substance should not be combined with such drugs:
- high-dose aspirin;
- preparations of nitrofuran series;
- medications to eliminate urinary tract infections;
- oral contraceptives;
- hormonal drugs.
These drugs help to reduce the concentration of vitamin B9 in blood cells.
European experience
Reviews of folic acid during pregnancy indicate its harmlessness. This is confirmed by the fact that in America flour producers are required to add folic acid in large doses to the composition of this product. Americans believe that this will prevent the deficiency of such a substance.
We study the opinion of Russian women
Folic acid tablets during pregnancy, according to consumers, are generally positive, with the exception of several cases of allergies. This drug has an important effect on the full formation of the fetus. A woman taking folic acid during pregnancy in the early stages and continuing to do this until the end of lactation provides both herself and the baby with useful substances.
Drug cost
We examined how to take folic acid during pregnancy, now let's talk about the price of these vitamins. It should be noted that the cost of vitamin B9 is available to a wide range of buyers. You can purchase a domestic drug or imported analogues. If a woman wants to purchase multivitamins, the amount of folic acid in them should be in the range up to 1 mg.
Contraindications
The norm of folic acid during pregnancy is set by a gynecologist. There are situations when this substance is not recommended. This is due to the presence of:
- bronchial asthma;
- kidney disease;
- anemia due to a lack of vitamin B12.
Therefore, you can not arbitrarily take this drug without consulting your doctor.
To summarize
Now we know what folic acid is for during pregnancy. Every expectant mother dreams of giving birth to the most healthy and beautiful baby. And this desire will certainly come true if only a woman tries to create optimal conditions for the unborn child.
The dosage of folic acid during pregnancy is determined depending on the state of health of the pregnant woman. It is important that the doctor conducting the pregnancy deal with this issue. It is with him that one should discuss the possibility of using drugs, the presence of problems and discomfort.
The expectant mother should fully eat, eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, and fresh ones, and not processed thermally. After all, heat treatment kills vitamins. In addition, the expectant mother should lead a healthy lifestyle, completely abandon the intake of alcohol, which complicates the process of receiving useful components.
From the first days of the birth of a new life, it is important for the fetal neural tube to fully receive nutrition from the mother in the form of oxygen and useful substances. Follow the recommendations of doctors, and you will have a healthy baby.