Contents:
- Medical Video: Nutrition & Fitness Before & During Pregnancy
- What happens to anencephaly babies?
- Prevent anencephaly by increasing folic acid intake
- When to start taking folate, and how much?
- Where are the sources of folate obtained?
Medical Video: Nutrition & Fitness Before & During Pregnancy
Anencephaly is one of the most common types of birth defects - sometimes even fatal. One in 1,000 pregnancies has a great chance of experiencing this pregnancy complication. Worse yet, not all cases of anencephaly are known exactly what caused it. What you can do to prevent anencephaly from happening to your prospective baby is to prepare your body since you are still planning to get pregnant. One important key is to increase the intake of foods high in folic acid.
What happens to anencephaly babies?
Anencephaly is a serious birth defect that causes a baby to be born without a part of his brain and skull. Anencephaly is a type of neural tube defect. The neural tube is an embryonic structure that eventually develops into the baby's brain and skull, as well as the spinal cord and other tissues that accompany it.
This condition occurs when the top of the nerve tube fails to close completely. As a result, the baby's brain and spinal cord are still developing so contaminated by amniotic fluid. Exposure to amniotic fluid then causes the nervous system tissue to break down and disintegrate. This results in babies born without the cerebrum and the cerebellum. These two parts of the brain are needed to think, hear, see, emotion, and coordinate movements.
Almost all babies diagnosed with anencephaly die while still in the womb. This condition cannot be cured. Even if the baby survives in the womb until the end of pregnancy, about 40% of anencephaly babies are born prematurely. But it is at high risk to die within a few hours or a few days after birth.
Prevent anencephaly by increasing folic acid intake
The exact cause of anencephaly is unknown. But the lack of intake of folic acid (vitamin B9) before and during pregnancy can increase the risk of birth defects in infants, including neural tube defects that cause anencephaly.
Therefore, folic acid is a very necessary nutritional requirement for every woman who will or is planning a pregnancy.Late or not increasing intake of folic acid during pregnancy will only increase the risk of anencephaly because the process has already occurred and is irrevocable. However, women who have not planned to have a baby still need to increase folic acid intake if they are sexually active. Because the pregnancy can occur without being planned.
In early pregnancy or even before you know that you are pregnant, folate plays an important role in the early development of the fetus, when the fetus is still a neural tube. Nerve tubes usually form early in pregnancy and close on the 28th day after fertilization.
Research shows that women who take folic acid supplements before becoming pregnant and continuing for the first trimester can reduce the risk of birth defects by 72 percent. Even a number of studies have also shown that consuming enough folic acid in early pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of language delay in children aged 3 years.
When to start taking folate, and how much?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The United States recommends women of childbearing age to consume 0.4 mg (400 mcg) of folate / day to prevent birth defects, at least a month before becoming pregnant. The Indonesian Ministry of Health through the 2013 Nutrition Adequacy Rate guidelines recommends that every woman consume folate at 400 mcg / day before pregnancy and add 200 mcg / day during pregnancy.
Women who take folate daily according to the recommended dosage starting at least one month before conception (fertilization) and during the first trimester of pregnancy can reduce the risk of their babies experiencing neural tube defects (causes of anencephaly and spina bifida) to more than 70 percent.
Where are the sources of folate obtained?
Folate can be found in green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and other foods. In Indonesia, the government has required folate fortification in all marketed flour aimed at improving nutrition.
Here are some foods that are sources of folate:
- Flour and cereal fortified with folate
- Green leafy vegetables, like spinach, asparagus, broccoli,Brussels sprouts, green radish, lettuce
- Fruits, like oranges, avocados, papaya, bananas
- Nuts, like beanschickpeas(arab beans)
- Peas
- Corn
- Dairy products
- Chicken, beef, eggs and fish
- Wheat
- Potato
Spinach, beef liver, asparagus, andBrussels sprouts is the highest source of folate food.Apart from food sources, folic acid can be fulfilled from pregnant multivitamins to help prevent anencephaly.
