Spina Bifida

[Spiderbee]

What are the real risks? I know that you're meant to take 400mg per day for the 1st 3 months but what if you don't? If you are young and healthy and have no family history, then are you really at much risk?

One artical I read said that the 400mg was originally only really for women with a family history therefore an increased risk. When I went to see my midwife I was never told to take it.

What are your views on this. Would be especially interested to hear from people who haven't taken any suppliment.

[daffy654]

I never took folic acid when pregnant with any of my 3 kids.My eldest two are now 20 and 18 and we weren't advised to take anything other than iron tablets.I stopped taking those almost immediately as they made me constipated.Both pregnancies resulted in normal healthy daughters. When pregnant with my now 10 year old I also took no supplements and he was born with no physical problems whatsoever.He does however have Asperger Syndrome but nobody knows what causes this so it can't really be linked to lack of supplements.

[natalie_1982]

Hi Spiderbee, I have often wondered this as I am 24, healthy and fit and have no family history of spina bifida, yet I was encouraged by my midwife to take folic acid up to week 12 of my pregnancy (I am now week 18). Obviously at the moment I do not know if baby has SB or not, so cannot answer from that aspect, but as I found out I was pregnant at 6 weeks I only took the tabs, when I remembered them, for 6 weeks and wondered what difference this would make.

We decided against having the SB / Downs test because midwife said I was in a low risk group. I don't believe in taking supplements unnecessarily so would be interested to hear other people's opinions, like Daffy's, for example; I was discouraged by my GP and midwife from taking iron supplements due to it having negative effect on mum and baby, yet 20 years ago you were told to take them!

[spanner7853]

same as Daffy I had never even heard of folic acid when I had my eldest 2 (13 and almost 11). It made me feel so sick this time I stopped taking it early as I couldn't stand it anymore. I'm 36 and at risk of having a baby with downs or other genetic ailments. I like Natalie didn't have the downs test as I thought even if it does have downs I would'nt love it any less. I thik it is one of those things unfortunately that either the baby will have or not despite taking any supplements.

[asteroid99]

I wonder whether the advice to take folic acid supplements is because a lot of peoples diets are low in folic acid? Surely if you eat a balanced diet your body will have all the nutrients it needs to make a healthy baby - after all women have been having babies a lot longer than supplements have been around! Thats just a suggestion by the way - I eat what I condsider to be a balanced diat but am still taking it!