Should you be taking a folic acid supplement while you’re trying to get pregnant?

I tell my patients who are thinking about getting pregnant to start taking a good quality prenatal supplement (which includes folic acid) when they start trying.

From a fertility standpoint, folic acid is needed in DNA synthesis and cell division. The requirement for this is amplified from the end of the developmental stages of the egg, through to fertilisation and into early pregnancy.

From a pregnancy standpoint, folic acid significantly decreases the risk of the baby developing a neural tube defect such as spina bifida.

Having said that, there is a common genetic mutation that negatively affects the ability to convert folic acid into the useable form. For this reason, I suggest that patients take the active form called L-5-MTHF (L-5-methyltetrahydrofolcate) instead — just in case!

In addition, there are healthy dietary source of folate that you should regularly incorporate into your diet: asparagus, avocadoes, banans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, citrus fruits (lemons, limes, grapefruit & oranges), eggs, eafy green vegetables (arugula, kale, lettuce, spinache), legumes (beans, peas & lentils), melons, papaya and fortified grains.

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