Folic Acid

[Mrs Doddy]

Well as next month it will be 3 months till we start ttc I best get thinking about my diet/exercise and folic acid.

Do I need just folic acid on its own or is there an all round care thing that is reccomended

Di you go to the doctors to get any advice on what you should do to prepare ???

 

[DNA0930]

My doctor recommended I start folic acid until I was 3 months pregnant, then switched me to pre-natal vitamins. "They say" you're supposed to start folic acid for at least 3 months before TTC, however that doesnt always hapen LOL And if you have any cases of spinal bifida in your family, you're supposed to take it for even longer before TTC, to minimize the chances of your lil one having it as well.
Because my son was born with a sacral dimple, I'm trying to take a multi-vitamin that has the recommended amount of folic acid in it daily, to prevent the next baby from having the same thing (these dimples run in my family, but are not spinal bifida-related). In his case, its absolutely harmless, but the stress I went through with getting extra ultrasounds on his bum, and waiting until after Christmas & New Years for answers was TERRIBLE!

 

[cazd]

What's sacral dimple? How does it affect your boy?

I've got forever 'till we ttc so I've been reading every book I can get my hands on!
This one is particularly good:
Before Your Pregnancy: A 90-Day Guide for Couples on How to Prepare for a Healthy Conception

Its full of dietary and lifestyle info to best prepare your body for making a baby. Its recommended that mums to be take a daily dose of 400ug up to and into their pregnancy.

The nerve that becomes the baby's spinal chord develops in the very first few weeks. And Folic acid helps it to develop properly.
So many cases of spina bifida could be prevented if mums had been taken folic acid when they became pregnant.

Not only does folic acid help baby develop - it has a number of health benefits - such as reducing the risk of certain kinds of cancer!

 

[DNA0930]

What's sacral dimple? How does it affect your boy?

A sacral dimple is just a lil hole at the base of the spine, in the bum crack (to say it delicately?? LOL).
Some of them are serious (neural tube defects), and some harmless. In the serious cases, sometimes the base of the spine is actually fused with the hole, which would require surgery to correct, as it wouldn't allow the baby to grow properly. And in the harmless cases, its just a cosmetic thing really. You can read more about them at:
https://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/pcomplications/0,,3q5p,00.html

About 2% of children are born with these dimples, and most are harmless, but try telling that to a mother who just gave birth, and who's hormones are out of whack! I can't tell you how stressed, depressed, confused, worried...you name it....I was. But thankfully, everything was fine, and it runs in my family, and the hubby's as well. Either way, I'm trying to stock up on folic acid daily to reduce the chances of it showing up again in the next baby (whenever that is LOL).

 

[DNA0930]

**sorry, forgot to answer the second part of that. It doesn't affect my son at all (thank God), just cosmetic really. But its very common, and usually it isn't noticable once they get bigger.

 

[MissPolley]

wow i never knew that!!! so how often does this occur?

 

[DNA0930]

They say in at least 2% of babies, but some sites say more. The hospital and our doctor both told us it was "very common" so it doesn't sound like only 2% to me.

 

[MissPolley]

hmm ok, ive never heard of it in my fam, but im glad i found out about it b4 it happens

 

[TashaAndBump]

My sister, Lily has one of these sacral dimples - they're still investigating it, but so far she shows no signs of being affected by it.

MrBum has one, too - but he never knew until I told him about it! lol

 

[Pudding-x123]

I have got a sacral dimple. Never thought anything of it. Now I have other thoughts after reading that site and about the tests haha!

The OH always prods it. It doesn't hurt. Hurts occasionally if im sitting long periods.

 

[DNA0930]

I have got a sacral dimple. Never thought anything of it. Now I have other thoughts after reading that site and about the tests haha!

The OH always prods it. It doesn't hurt. Hurts occasionally if im sitting long periods.

It may be Spinal Bifida Occulta, which as scary as it sounds, isn't as bad as it seems. A lot of people actually have it, and don't even realize it (like my hubby, but we'll never know because he won't get it checked out). It just a deformation in one of the vertebrae, and just as you said, if you're sitting for a while, you can get some back pains. Of course, there are more severe cases, but in the majority, people dont even know they have it until they have an xray for an unrelated reason, and it is discovered.

 

[cazd]

Thanks for explaining that guys- There must be so many things that can go wrong - I daren't watch the baby hospital programmes!

Glad alls fine now though xxx

 

[Tegans Mama]

My little girl has spina bifida - if I was you I'd start taking Folic Acid now and keep taking it until you're at least three months gone, counts for everyone. There's no Spina Bifida in my family and I took my folic acid every day for three months before and the first 15 weeks.