Folic Acid

[Hayls]

I'm 11 weeks pregnant and have been taking my daily dose of folic acid since I found out nearly 5 weeks ago. I have heard different reports on when to stop taking it- most seem to say stop at 12 weeks but I have also read that it's recommended to take it for longer. My GP gave me a prescrption for 56, which confused me even more! I'm also a bit unsure of exact dates because my cycle was never 28 days long (sometimes 5 or six weeks so this may mean that I'm not really 11 weeks, although bulging bump seems to support the 11 week theory!) so don't know if this means that I should take it for longer to make sure I keep taking it till 12 weeks! Does anybody know/ have experience of this? Sorry if this is a bit confusing but I seem to be rambling on a bit lately...

Hayls, I seem to remember my dr said it was only important for the 1st 12 weeks. I stopped taking it then anyway so I hope so!

I was traveling when I got pregnant and each country gave different advice (first time mum, I was buying far too many pregnancy magazines) but when I got back to the UK, I was about 14 weeks-ish, the midwife told me to stop taking the folic acid as they advice up to 12 weeks. Think the baby is fully formed then and only grows bigger from 3 months, but as I failed biology don't quote me on that, probably very wrong.

Folic acid is extremely good for you anyway so you can take it all the way through if you want.

I think before pregnancy and the first 12 weeks is when it is very important for spinal development etc - but doesn't do any harm afterwards and is in pregnancare which they say you can take for the full term (mind you they are trying to sell their tablets!)

Hi Hayls,im 7 weeks pg and have also been taking folic acid from week 5.I saw my doctor yesterday and he has advised me to take it until im 16 weeks,although alot of people do say 12.I will just go along with what the doctor said.

Thanks everybody, I've still not decided what to do! The general opinion seems to be to take until at least 12 weeks so will do that and see how I go from there. Seeing my midwife next week so wil hopefully have a chat about it then.I think there's just so much informtion out there that you end up being bombarded with it and unsure of what is accurate. Anybody else getting conflicting advice from various sources? Aargh!

Basically folic acid is only effective as far as baby's development is concerned up to 12 weeks. It is best actually started before conception but many women do not achieve that. It does no harm to continue it longer so if you want to take it till 16 weeks or beyond you can.

You cannot do yourself harm and can only do yourself good by taking folic acid. During pregnancy you need more of this vitamin anyway. However, if you are concerned about cleft palate or spina bifida, your babies palate, spine and brain are formed now. The spine closes (like a zip) between 17 and 30 days after conception, the palate is formed after seven weeks. Which is why it is recommended to take folic acid before conception - the minute you stop using contraception, or ideally every day of your reproductive life. However, the chances of a neural tube defect are very small even if you take no folic acid, and much reduced if you've been taking it during the vital time. You can stop taking it if you want, but equally it is considered beneficial to take it for the whole of your life!