• April 19, 2024

Both calcium, iron and folic acid are essential elements that pregnant women should consume to encourage proper development of the baby, by preventing various birth defects and take care of the future mother's well-being.

In an interview for GetQoralHealth, the doctor Zigor Campos Goneaga, gynecologist and obstetrician with subspecialty in Perinatal Medicine , explains that the ideal is that iron and folic acid are consumed two or three months before looking for pregnancy.

However, the active member of the Mexican College of Specialists in Gynecology and Obstetrics (COMEGO) details that between 40 and 50% of pregnancies occur without being planned, so it is vital to start consuming them when the news is known and continue taking them until breastfeeding.

Meanwhile, calcium is recommended to be ingested since pregnancy is confirmed or from the second and third trimesters to the period of lactation.

Although these elements are naturally present in food, they do not meet the necessary quantities, "therefore it is necessary to add them in a supplementary way," points out Goneaga Fields.

What is the function in pregnancy?

Folic acid prevents neural tube defects, that is, specific damage to the spinal column such as spina bifida. "Patients who take this element properly have less presence of these alterations," says the doctor.

"When the baby requires folic acid is between the first eight or 10 weeks," explains Campos Goneaga.

While for mom, folic acid is necessary for the metabolism of iron and helps reduce the effects of dilutional anemia that occurs during pregnancy.

It is important to take a balanced diet and go to a specialist during the pregnancy process, to have a good quality of life at this stage.