Folic acid supplementation during the weeks around conception is known to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (things like spina bifida) in the babies of women who are at elevated risk for a baby with those kinds of defects. As a result, all enriched flour (basically, if it isn’t whole grain flour, it’s enriched in the U.S., and that includes the buns at McD’s and the pastries at Starbucks) contains added folic acid. Women who might become pregnant are also encouraged to supplement folic acid; it is included in prenatal vitamin formulas and many daily multivitamins. Folic acid is also present in a lot of food: beans, orange juice, dark leafy greens and many others. Alcohol and some medications (notably some anti-convulsants, which people who get seizures may take to prevent more seizures) interfere with folic acid metabolism. You need folic acid, either through food or supplementation. How you get it is entirely up to you.
Other than folic acid, supplementation during pregnancy does not appear to be endorsed by any relevant government body (ACOG, the FDA and so forth are quiet on the topic, and emphasize diet over taking pills), and supplementation is not without its own risks.
Copyright 2005 by Rebecca Allen
Created May 20, 2005 Updated March 8, 2006