Folic acid is a naturally occurring B vitamin. It helps a fetus's neural tube develop properly. The neural tube is the part of a developing baby that becomes the brain and spinal cord. Folic acid must be taken before and during early pregnancy when the neural tube is developing.

The best way to get enough folic acid is to take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid in it and eat a healthy diet. Most multivitamins have this amount, but check the label to be sure. You also can get folic acid in your diet, but it's hard to get enough every day through food alone. That's why the March of Dimes encourages all women of childbearing age to take a multivitamin containing folic acid every day as part of a healthy diet.

Folic acid works, but it only works if taken before and during the first few weeks of pregnancy, when the neural tube is developing into the brain and spinal cord. When the neural tube does not close properly, a baby is born with a very serious birth defect called a neural tube defect (NTD). About 3,000 pregnancies are affected by NTDs each year in the United States. If all women took adequate folic acid before conception and during early pregnancy, up to 70 percent of NTDs could be prevented.

Once you're pregnant, you should increase your folic acid intake to at least 600 micrograms of folic acid. Your prenatal vitamin should have the right amount of folic acid you'll need during pregnancy.

Folic acid has no known toxic level. If you ate a bowl of fully fortified cereal (400 micrograms), took a folic acid supplement (400 micrograms), and ate fortified foods and foods rich in folate, you would not get too much folic acid. Still, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that women consume no more than 1,000 micrograms of synthetic folic acid a day.

Folic Acid in Foods
Folic acid is found in the following foods:

• Fortified breakfast cereals (look on the label to see if the cereal has been fortified with folic acid)
• Lentils
• Asparagus
• Spinach
• Black beans
• Peanuts (only if you do not have a peanut allergy)
• Orange juice (from concentrate is best)
• Enriched breads and pasta
• Romaine lettuce
• Broccoli

Folic Acid Is Good for Mom and Dad, Too
Folic acid is important for everyone in maintaining health. It plays an important role in the production of red blood cells. Folic acid may also help prevent certain health problems; research is still being done.

For More Information
Read the March of Dimes fact sheet on folic acid.

August 2009