Pregnancy is a time when women need to think about their nutrition, especially because they are eating for two and obstetricians would require them to eat healthy, leading diet experts say. For this reason, obstetricians prescribe supplemental vitamins for pregnant women to keep them and their babies healthy. Thus, folic acid has been prescribed to decrease the incidences of certain birth defects. However, one might ask how this B-vitamin help in preventing major birth defects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) even reports that it may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Preventing neural tube defects remains the biggest contribution of folic acid to the lives of unborn babies. Neural tube defects are problems at birth in which the baby is born with incomplete skull or spine -- two common types of which are anencephaly and spina bifida. Anencephaly, on the one hand, is the absence of the cerebral hemisphere or the cerebellum, skull with facial deformities and heart defects. Spina bifida, on the other hand, is the problem with the spine of the baby which may result to nerve damage. As there is still no cure for such diseases, child experts believe that prevention is the only key to minimizing the numbers.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has even fortified food with this vitamin to ensure women of all ages to have adequate amounts of this nutrient to prepare for pregnancy. The mandate included the fortification of grain products such as bread and cereals. After starting the fortification program of different everyday food, the number of cases of anencephaly and spina bifida lowered down. About 1,000 babies are born healthy and free of major defects at birth due to this program. Taking this supplement prevents 50 to 70 percent of brain and spinal problems among newborn babies.
With the help of careful study, it was also found out that certain medications taken during gestation may cause this physical defect. Apparently Zoloft, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is one of those medications that may cause it. Women who have taken Zoloft while they still have the baby in their womb have found several materials about this at the www.zoloftsertralinebirthdefects.com.
URL References:
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/neuraltubedefects.html
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/1017.html
cdc.gov/NCBDDD/birthdefects/data.html
cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/data.html
