Folic acid is a vitamin that plays a role in DNA structure and repair. Even if you eat healthy, it cannot be taken in sufficient levels from the diet during pregnancy and supplementation is definitely required. Folic acid is used to prevent neural tube defects. Because with proper folic acid support, the risk of giving birth to a baby with a neural tube defect is reduced by nearly 70%.

The brain and spinal cord develop from the neural tube in the later stages of pregnancy. If the neural tube does not close, we will encounter anomalies in the brain and spinal cord tissue that are incompatible with life. For this reason, folic acid supplementation is started at least 1 month before pregnancy and used until the 12th week of pregnancy. It does not need to be used after the 12th week as the neural tube closes. The World Health Organization recommends 400 micrograms of folic acid for those without risk factors. However, in cases of a previous baby with a neural tube defect, use of epilepsy medications, obesity and diabetes, the daily folic acid dose should be increased to 4 milligrams.