Folic Acid (prenatal and pregnancy)

You can get folic acid from a variety of foods like:

• dark green vegetables like peas, spinach, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts
• corn
• oranges
• dried peas, beans and lentils
• peanuts and other nuts and seeds
• foods with folic acid added such as:
  • flour
  • ready-to eat cereals
  • enriched bread, pasta and cornmeal

Folic acid helps build blood and tissues for you and your baby when you are pregnant. Early in your pregnancy, folic acid helps your baby’s spine, brain and spinal cord develop properly. A neural tube defect is a birth defect that happens when a baby’s brain, spine or spinal cord does not develop properly. You can help prevent your baby from developing neural tube defects like spina bifida by getting enough folic acid.

Folic acid is important for your baby’s development in the first few weeks of pregnancy. This is before a lot of people know they are pregnant. That’s why Health Canada recommends that anyone who could get pregnant take a multivitamin and mineral supplement with 0.4 mg of folic acid every day. At the very least, start taking it three months before you try to get pregnant.

When you are pregnant, it is hard to get enough folic acid from food alone. To get enough folic acid:

• eat a variety of vegetables and fruits, protein foods and whole grain foods, and,
• take a multivitamin and mineral supplement that has 0.4 mg of folic acid every day.

For more information about nutrition during pregnancy, check out Canada’s Food Guide.

Some people may need more than 0.4 mg of folic acid daily, such as people:

• who had a previous pregnancy affected with a neural tube defect
• who have a family history of neural tube defect
• with health conditions such as:
  • diabetes (type 1 or 2)
  • celiac disease
  • liver disease
  • inflammatory bowel disease
• who are on kidney dialysis
• who had gastric bypass surgery
• with alcohol overuse
• who are taking antiepileptic medications or other drugs that affect folate

Talk to your health-care provider to see if you need a higher amount of folic acid. You should not take more than 1 mg of folic acid per day unless your doctor tells you to.

Yes! Health Canada recommends that anyone who could get pregnant take a multivitamin and mineral supplement with 0.4 mg of folic acid every day. This includes people who are breastfeeding.

Even with birth control, pregnancies can happen. If you are having sex and could become pregnant, take a multivitamin and mineral supplement that has 0.4 mg of folic acid in it every day. This can help prevent birth defects if you have an unplanned pregnancy.