Medical Encyclopedia
Folic acid
Studies show that an increase in the mother's dietary folic acid before conception and during the first month of pregnancy reduces the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect. The recommendation is that women of childbearing years take a daily folic acid supplement.
Update Date: 11/9/2007
Updated by: Peter Chen, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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