Ladies, here is why you need folic acid

When Allen Ssekimpi got pregnant, she did not know she was required to take folic acid daily. But when she went to hospital for an antenatal visit during the first trimester, the midwife cautioned her about the dangers of not taking folic acid.
“I learnt about folic acid when I was already three months pregnant. The midwife made a big deal out of it and even warned that chances of having a baby whose spine was not fully developed were high. I was worried I was going to have a deformed baby. However, the midwife encouraged me to start taking folic acid daily,” she recalls.
Fortunately, Ssekimpi’s baby was healthy at birth and when she got pregnant the second time, she started taking folic tablets a week after she got to know she was pregnant.
Every mother must prepare to have a healthy baby and aim at preventing birth defects. This is achievable, according to Dr Charles Kiggundu, a gynaecologist at Kawempe General Hospital, by getting enough nutrients that enable proper growth and development of the foetus.
He says folic acid, (also called folate), is one of the most critical nutrients every expecting mother should take in order to have a healthy baby.
“The nutrient can be found in the food we eat but also, a mother gets folic acid supplements which she takes every day for three months. It would be good for mothers to take them before conception but some people have unplanned pregnancies. They are very useful and applicable during early pregnancy,” Ssekimpi says.
Folic acid has been proved to play a big role in cell growth and development, as well as tissue formation for a foetus and deficiency is likely to cause nerve defects, according to Dr Michael Muhumuza, a neurosurgeon at Mulago hospital.
The mineral makes and repairs DNA and helps produce red blood cells. Folate is particularly important in women of childbearing age and its deficiency is likely to cause anaemia.
He says: “The most common neural tube defects are: spina bifida, an incomplete closure of the spinal cord and spinal column; anencephaly, a birth defect in which a baby is born without parts of the brain and skull and encephalocele (cranial bifida), when brain tissue protrudes out to the skin from an abnormal opening in the skull. All these conditions are caused by folate deficiency in the mother’s diet.”
These defects, according to Dr Kiggundu, happen during the first 28 days of pregnancy; usually before a woman knows she is pregnant. Only 50 per cent of pregnancies worldwide are planned, so any woman who wants to have a baby should ensure she is getting enough folic acid. “Morning sickness has also been linked to some cases of folic acid deficiency, especially when pregnant women experience vomiting,” he warns.

Recommendations
Fausta Akech, a nutritionist at Healthy U Clinic, recommends pregnant and nursing mothers to eat plenty of dark green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, sprouts, green beans, peas, chickpeas, okra and many others.
She says, “Vegetables have a higher level of folic acid if they are steamed rather than fried to help preserve as many vitamins in the food as possible. Pregnant women should take extra folic acid each day to cater for the growing baby. Lactating mothers need folic acid too.”
Fortified cereals, lentils, rice, bananas, oranges, nuts, potatoes, liver, kidneys are a rich source of folic acid too.
Acohol consumption interferes with folate absorption and increases its excretion through the urine. iciency is usually treated by a combination of folic acid and vitamin B tablets.
kidneys can be a rich source of folic acid too.
It is important to note however, that alcohol consumption interferes with folate absorption and increases its excretion through the urine. Deficiency is usually treated by a combination of folic acid and vitamin B tablets.