Don't Forget to Take Your Folic Acid

It seems the primary cause of spina bifida is an insufficient intake of folic acid. Doctors recommend that women start taking folic acid at least one month before they try to get pregnant. But according to a survey, while 79% of women know that folic acid plays an important role during pregnancy, only 7% knew to take folic acid before trying to get pregnant. 

And more importantly, exactly how many women have a planned pregnancy? It turns out only about 50%. Which probably means about 50% or more of pregnant women didn’t take folic acid during the month before they knew they were pregnant. 

Research has shown that folic acid can reduce the risks of neural tube defects by up to 73%. That’s a game changer in my book. I’m befuddled why friends who have gone through a pregnancy never thought to tell Jessie and me about this. People are always talking about not drinking alcohol or smoking. Why not talk about taking folic acid?

If most people are like Jessie and me, they probably don’t start looking up information concerning pregnancy until after the fact. If I knew about the dangers of neural tube defects and I knew that taking folic acid could help prevent it, I would be telling every woman I know. It should be ones civil duty to inform the uninformed of such matters.

I hope everyone who reads this post follows my example and says the following important lines to their friends and loved ones.

Me: Hey, when are you planning on having a baby?
Friend: I’m not sure. We’ll see.
Me: Cool! Oh, by the way, DON’T F*CKING FORGET TO TAKE FOLIC ACID AT LEAST ONE MONTH BEFORE YOU TRY!!! AND EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT PLANNING, TAKE IT ANYWAYS, BECAUSE YOU NEVER F*CKING KNOW!!

(Friend leaves grateful and thankful after hearing this message, albeit a bit shaken up.)

We’re going to our usual doctor at the clinic on Thursday to get a second opinion.