Folic Acid, Improve Your Baby's Language Proficiency

Health & Insurance----Folic acid has many benefits for pregnant women and their babies. Because folic acid can help baby's brain growth, and reduce the risk of Neural Tube Defects (NTD) in infants is spina bifida (an abnormality in the spine) and anencephaly (no brain abnormalities which are formed).


The importance of folic acid by pregnant women because if there is a deficiency of folic acid intake can cause defects in babies born. Recent research has found women who consume folic acid before and during pregnancy greatly reduces the risk to have children with severe language skills.


The results of these studies have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, dated October 11, 2011.


"When compared with mothers who did not consume folic acid supplements, women who consume folic acid ranging from 4 weeks before pregnancy can reduce the risk of having children who will experience severe delays in language comprehension at age 3," the researchers said as quoted by CNNHealth, Thursday (13/10/2011).


This risk is reduced by half after the researchers controlled for other factors in the study. Other factors are controlled by the researchers in that study, among others:

• Maternal education
• Maternal weight
• Socio-demographic factors

Mothers who are taking other supplements, but not folic acid did not show a decrease in the risk of delays in infant language skills. This indicates that folic acid does have a unique effect on child development.


Although some medical research on the benefits of folic acid in protecting the fetus against neural tube defects has been widely publicized, but this study is further evidence that the supplements could protect babies from other neurodevelopmental disorders.


"We always recommend folic acid supplements. This is because foods fortified with folic acid although it gives a number of folic acid intake, but did not reach 400 micrograms. Therefore, experts suggest intake of 400 micrograms of folic acid for all women of childbearing age," said Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical director at the March of Dimes.


Research has tracked about 0.5 percent of the 40,000 Norwegian children who have severe delays in language skills. Norwegian children are only able to make a single word or words that can be understood by others at the age of 3 years.


Folic acid can be obtained by eating spinach, Chinese radish, dried beans and peas, cereals, sunflower seeds and fruits and certain vegetables are rich sources of folate.