< b>Acid, folic: One of the B vitamins that is a key factor in the synthesis
(the making) of nucleic acid (DNA and RNA).
A deficiency of folic acid after birth causes a kind of anemia, namely, megaloblastic
anemia in which there is a paucity of red blood cells and those that are made are
unusually large and immature (so-called blast cells).
Lack of adequate folic acid during pregnancy was first found to increase the
risk for the baby to have a birth defect involving the spinal cord and brain --
a neural tube defect such as spina bifida (meningomyelocele) or anencephaly.
The association was then investigated between the mother's use of drugs that
act as folic acid antagonists in the first trimester of pregnancy and the birth
of a child with a congenital malformation (birth defect). It was found that folic
acid antagonists increased the risk not only of neural tube defects but also of
congenital heart malformations, cleft lip and palate , and urinary tract defects.
Folic acid. it now is clear, reduces the risks for a remarkably broad gamut of birth
defects.
In order for folic acid to be effective in preventing these birth defects, the
vitamin must be consumed every day beginning before conception and continuing through
the first three months of pregnancy. Educating women (and their doctors) about the
importance of folic acid is going to require a major effort. According to one study,
only 10% of women know that folic acid should be taken before pregnancy.
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