FOLIC ACID - CONFUSED!!

[NewbieMTB]

Hi - can anyone clarify when your suppose to take folic acid? I was taking it before i concieved and thought that at 12 weeks you stop taking it. BUT now I have read that you should take 400mg daily all through pregnancy - confused!!! What are you suppose to do re folic and other vitamins? I think my diet is good but concerned I should try my best for baby but worried I may overdose on some bad vitamin (A mainly!!) !! Help!

[mrsboogie]

Once you get to 12 weeks or thereabouts the risk of spina bifia due to insufficient folic acid is gone as the baby's spinal cord and nervous system is all in place. I think you can stop at 12 weeks safely - the important thing is to take it in early pregnancy and especially before conceiving.

[NewbieMTB]

Thanks - should I bother taking anything else? Have seen these pregnacare vitamins in Boots but worried they have too much of every 'vitamin' in them...

[MrsBadger]

so long as you have a healthy varied diet I wouldn;t worry

but if you are eating crap due to morning sickenss, nausea and/or cravings then pregnancy supplements aren';t a bad idea - the pg-specific ones likePregnacare will be safe but don;t take a non-pg-specific multivit

[wasabipeanut]

I take the Pcare ones with the oil supplement - they are freaking expensive but with ds when I was still bf I had a lot of pain in my joints and back - I started with the extra oils and it made it a lot better so I am taking them all the way through this time.

[mrsboogie]

Pregnacare are formulated for pregnancy so I wouldn't worry about there being too much of anything in them - there's not many things that people are prepared to say are safe in Pregnancy but these are one of them!

[FlirtyThirty]

Up to 12weeks for Folic Acid...you can stop now. :-) Exactly as Mrs Boogie explained.

[NewbieMTB]

Thank you all!

[SheWillBeLoved]

I still take mine. Can't see no harm in it, and seeing as I only have an appetite for complete crap at the moment, the extra vitamins can only be a good thing.

[tinkhaslessthanaweek]

i am 39 weeks and taking mine i take sanatogen pronatal with all vitamins in and iron

[fleacircus]

Vitamin A from vegetables etc in a normal diet isn't a problem; also it isn't included in any of the specific prenatal vitamins. But you should avoid liver and pate because of the high vitamin A content (although I just checked with my GP and he says I'm allowed some haggis on Burns night as a one off!)