If you took 5mg folic acid in first trimester...

[DontAskImaNutter]

How much if any did you take after the first 12 weeks, and how is your child now?

Don't ask, just random paranoia and would love a bit of anecdata please to set my mind at rest 🙈 nothing to worry about for anyone who isn't a crazy!

I took them til i ran out (maybe 20 weeks?) But not religiously, and stopped for a bit here and there as they made me kinda constipated which was unhelpful.

DD is perfect, not a hint of SB.

That was on the advice of my midwife

I was prescribed them the whole way through (on the advice of the antenatal team), DD is fine.

Pretty sure there is folic acid included in pregnancy vitamins that I took all through pregnancy, but if there isn’t then I didn’t take any and my children are fine.

Also I didn’t specifically take folic acid before getting pregnant with either my 2nd & 3rd children as I wasn’t particularly trying to get with the 2nd and I’d forgotten it was a thing with the 3rd

Didn't take before hand. Took till 12 weeks with dc1, not regularly at all with dc3,4 and 5. Didn't take at all with dc5 and 6 . And took religiously with dc7 and 8. Dc 5 and 6 have autism. The rest are fine (dc8 is only 5 months so not 100% with her, but she seems fine)

Thanks everyone!

It's the big drop from 5mg to 400mcg (or nothing!) I'm wondering about especially.

I took 5mg daily for about 6 months prior to conceiving (I have a child with NT defect) and stopped taking it when I was 14 weeks pregnant.

I had a scan at 14 weeks and it showed no SB. They did say that it might dtill be beneficial (don't know for whst) to continu till 16 weeks or longer if I want to. They said it can't hurt.

If it's for SB then the neural tube is finished (clise or not) after the first trimester.

5mg is a therapeutic dose of folic acid, whereas 400 mcg the pregnancy preventative dose. So I guess If you’ve been prescribed 5mg it’s because you’re in some way deficient and so the question i’d be asking is whether that’s fixed Or could it recur. I took a pregnacare daily throughout pregnancy and no issues at all.

I stopped at 12 weeks; I was on them because of other medication that I take.

I took folic acid prior to conception, I wasn't told I should have been on a higher dosage due to being epileptic and my meds are not pregnancy friendly (only recently published by pharmaceutical companies), I found out at my scan at 16 weeks that my dd had SB plus other associated conditions.

Its worth noting that most Neural Tube Defects form within the first 4 weeks of pregnancy.

@JoanieCash you get prescribed 5mg folic acid for pregnancy instead of 400micrograms if you're in particular high risk groups though rather than if you're necessarily deficient. There used to be a list - I was surprised how many conditions were recommended 5mg by default at the time - may have changed by now of course!

You get prescribed 5mcg instead of 4 if you are obese or have certain other risk factors for folate / folic acid deficiency related disorders. You should probably keep taking it because folic acid has been linked to the prevention of preclampsia which is more likely the more overweight you are.

I took 5mg all the way through 2 pregnancies due to the risks of the epilepsy medication I take. DC are primary school aged and both healthy.

Best to double check with your midwife as the guidance seems to vary from person to person. I’m currently 37+6 and on the advice of my midwife I stopped taking 5mgs at 12 weeks and didn’t even switch to a lower dose. I’ve taken vitamin D all the way through.

I took them religiously and then stressed endlessly because more often than not was sick imeadiately afterwards.

Child is now 19

I took 5mg til 16 weeks in first pregnancy and then nothing. I took 5mg until 13 weeks in second pregnancy and then nothing. Both kiddies now fine.

Do you think that not taking it caused the autism in dc 5&6 ?