Forgot Folic Acid!!

[GeorginaA]

I've been really sporadic taking folic acid at the beginning of the pregnancy as I wasn't prepared to get pregnant so quick, which worried me, but I've pretty much reconciled it with lots of people must do the same when they get pregnant accidentally and their babies were okay.

But I've just realised that I haven't had any folic acid now since I've given up my cup of tea in the morning when I was feeling sick (as it was my usual habit to take my pregnancy multi vits then). Feel really cross with myself at my complacency and am worried that I may have done the baby harm seeing as my diet hasn't been that great either (due to feeling sick).

Any reassurance please? I know folic acid is put into white bread and cereals these days - would I have had enough to prevent any damage from that alone?

(Oh, I'm 8 weeks pregnant - and I've probably missed one maybe two weeks of multivits)

You don't cause "damage" by not taking folic acid - its just that by taking it you reduce your chances of having a baby with Spina Bifida.

In all probability you have a perfectly healthy baby and, like you say, you will have been taking some Folic acid in bread and cereal.

BTW I didn't start taking mine this time until 6 weeks due to not realising I was pregnant. I'm sure you'll be fine.

Just as important is the folic acid in your diet before and when you conceive which was probably fine anyway.

When I was pregnant the first time I was 9 weeks gone before I found out and the dr put me on folic acid straight away. DD was fine.

This time since we were trying I got the folic acid before we started trying and started to take it every day. Once I found out I was pregnant with a positive test at 6 weeks I kept taking it but then my brain turned to mush and to be honest most days I forget and then remember the next day so I take it then. I only have a few more pills to take but trying to remember to take them is a nightmare, if my memory has gone as much as this already I hate to think what I'll be like later on in this pregnancy.

I think that you'll probably be ok georginaA. If you've been managing to eat bread and cereals.

Thanks for all the reassurance! Someone pointed out to me today that cornflakes (of which I'd been having a bowl a day - about the only thing I could eat when I was feeling really rough) is 30% RDA so I probably got more than I realised anyway.

Am going to make a concerted effort to remember from now on though!

As I understand it, this is really a public health issue. Getting everyone to take folic acid reduces the incidence of spina bifida in the population as a whole.