Folic acid before and during pregnancy

Folic acid reduces the risk of the foetus developing abnormalities during pregnancy. So it makes sense to start taking a folic acid supplement in good time. You can find out more about folic acid in our Health Tip.

Folic acid is a synthetic form of the vitamin folate. Folic acid is converted into the active form of the vitamin in the body. Folate is the natural form of the vitamin.

During pregnancy the daily folate or folic acid requirement rises significantly to 550 folate equivalents, namely 550 µg (micrograms) of folate or 275µg of folic acid. Normal food – in other words, food which has not been fortified with folic acid – generally provides only 200-250 micrograms of folate. We therefore advise pregnant women to take at least 400 micrograms of folic acid per day in tablet form in order to prevent the foetus from developing abnormalities.

 

Before planned pregnancy

Since folic acid is especially important in the first few weeks of pregnancy, you should ideally start to take it four to twelve weeks before pregnancy. It is during these first weeks that the nervous system develops and the neural tube which surrounds the spinal cord closes. Studies have shown that a high level of folic acid reduces the risk of birth defects, specifically spina bifida, by 50-80%.

 

Lifelong consequences

A child which is born with spina bifida will require an operation immediately after birth. Even if the operation is successful, those affected generally have lifelong problems with walking and bladder control. In Switzerland, approximately 0.1- 4.0% of expectant mothers have a folic acid deficiency and 15 to 20 children are born with spina bifida every year.

 

Foods with folic acid

To ensure that you have enough folates in your diet, you should eat plenty of fruit, salad, pulses, wholemeal products, dairy products and, if you like it, salmon. But you should note that folate is soluble in water and very sensitive to heat and light. This means that over half of the folate can be lost during food preparation. So it’s a good idea to try to eat plenty of raw fruit and/or vegetables. If you are preparing meals with vegetables, you should try to keep the cooking time to a minimum. Wheatgerm tops the table of foods which contain folate and can easily be added to salads or muesli. You should avoid eating liver. Although it is rich in folate, it also contains a lot of vitamin A, and too much vitamin A is bad for expectant mothers.


19.09.2018
In the event of further health-related questions, SWICA customers can contact the santé24 telemedicine service free of charge on +41 44 404 86 86. A telemedicine practice licence allows santé24 physicians to provide additional medical services in cases that are suited to a telemedicine approach. SWICA customers can also use the BENECURA medical app to carry out a digital SymptomCheck and receive recommendations about what to do next. During a subsequent phone call with santé24, customers can decide for themselves whether to release their information from SymptomCheck to santé24.