Folic acid also helps prevent delays in language

For years, gynecologists recommend taking folic acid to women who are considering pregnancy or already in the early weeks of pregnancy since it has been shown that this supplement is beneficial to the unborn baby.

So far, it was known that folic acid is very useful to reduce the risk of congenital problems such as neural tube defects (anencephaly, spina bifida, hydrocephalus), although, judging by the results of recent research, the list of disorders that may prevent could be longer .

According to data published in the latest issue of the journal 'Journal of the American Medical Association's ("JAMA"), folic acid intake from four weeks prior to conception until at least eight weeks of gestation associated with a lower risk of language delay in the baby.

The authors of this research, led by Christine Roth, Institute of Public Health, Oslo (Norway), conducted a follow-up to the mothers of 38,954 children born between 1999 and 2008. Among other tests, each of the participants referred to the researchers' responses to a questionnaire about their habits in pregnancy, the motor skills of their children and their communication skills at age three.

Across the data, researchers found that those lower risk of language delay had were the children of participants who had taken folic acid in pregnancy period stages.

In contrast, there was no association between folic acid consumption and small motor skills, which, according to researchers, reinforces the hypothesis that there is an independent association between intake of dietary supplement and neurocognitive development of small .

Confirmation

Still, they recognize that their work could not determine the cause of this association and further work is needed to prove that there is a causal link between the two.

"If in the future, research shows that there is a causal relationship, these will have important implications for understanding the biological processes behind the problems of neurodevelopmental disorder prevention in this field and to carry out policies of dietary supplements women of reproductive age, "they conclude.

For Jose Garcia Flores, a gynecologist at the University Hospital Madrid Chiron, the hypothesis presented by Norwegian researchers is very plausible because folic acid, present in many green leafy foods "can be considered a food for cells . "

"It's a helper for cell division, so it makes sense that their role is important in various stages of development," says the specialist.

He explains that in Spain there is a universal recommendation for folic acid intake, as it has detected a deficit in the intake of this vitamin, which is associated with numerous benefits.

In the case of pregnant women, we recommend starting with the extra two or three months before conception and continue it during infancy, although in most cases "pregnant women start taking folic acid at the beginning of pregnancy. "