Folic Acid???

How much are you needing to get before you are pregnant and after you are pregnant? Is a Prenatal enough? Or should you be supplementing with a folic acid tablet?

Thanks!

I just drank orange juice with breakfast every morning. And still do.

Jackie

Every woman needs 400 mcg of folic acid a day. Women attempting pregnancy or who are  pregnant or breastfeeding should have 1 mg per day. Women attempting pregnancy or pregnant who have a history of having had a previous child with birth defects or who are taking anti-seizure or anti-mania medications should take 4 mg a day.

UGH! 4 mg for anti-sezure meds. Does it make a difference on the amount of meds or what it is for? I am on Topamax for migranes and just 50mg. I am currently on 1200 mcg plus what ever is in the pre natals.

Mega-doses of folic acid are recommended for all drugs in this class, but there is a difference in the rate of birth defects from one med to another. Topamax isn't as bad as Tegretol or Depakote. The worst-case scenerio is when a woman is on two or three meds from this class. In general, Lamictal is the one least likely to cause problems.

But that does NOT mean to go off your meds! Seizures and unmedicated bipolar disorder are not good for fetuses, either. If you are taking Topamax just for migraine prophalaxis it would be worth asking your migraine doc if there is something else you could take instead.

Prescription prenatals generally have a mg of folic acid, so your total dose is 2.2 mg plus what you get from fortified foods. That's probably enough.