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MotherToBaby

Medications and More during pregnancy and breastfeeding

Folic Acid | Folate

Selected References:

  • Aslinia F, et al. 2006. Megaloblastic anemia and other causes of macrocytosis. Clinical Medicine & Research 4.3:236-41. 
  • Benjamin RH, et al. 2025. National Birth Defects Prevention Study and the Birth Defects Study to Evaluate Pregnancy Exposures. Maternal folic acid supplement use, folate intake, and preterm birth among infants with spina bifida. Birth Defects Res. 117(12):e70008. 
  • Bortolus R., et al. 2021. Efficacy of 4.0 mg versus 0.4 mg folic acid supplementation on the reproductive outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. Nutrients. 13(12):4422.  
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2025. Folic Acid Safety, Interactions, and Effects on Other Outcomes. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/about/safety.html [Accessed 01/2026]. 
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2025. Folic Acid: Sources and Recommended Intake. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/about/intake-and-sources.html [Accessed 01/2026]. 
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2025. MTHFR Gene Variant and Folic Acid Facts. Available at  https://www.cdc.gov/folic-acid/data-research/mthfr/ [Accessed 01/2026].  
  • Christian P. et al. 2010 Prenatal micronutrient supplementation and intellectual and motor function in early school-aged children in Nepal. JAMA. 304:2716–2723. 
  • Crider KS, et al. 2011. Folic acid food fortification-its history, effect, concerns, and future directions. Nutrients; 3(3):370-84. 
  • Cui Y, et al. 2021. Association of maternal pre-pregnancy dietary intake with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 1–22.  
  • Dervla K, et al. 2012: Use of folic acid supplements and risk of cleft lip and palate in infants: A population-based cohort study. Br J Gen Pract British Journal of General Practice 62.600:466-72. 
  • Gaskins AJ, et al. 2012. The impact of dietary folate intake on reproductive function in premenopausal women: A prospective cohort study. PLoS One 7(9):e46276.  
  • Gaskins AJ, et al. 2014. Maternal prepregnancy folate intake and risk of spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Obstet Gynecol. 124(1):23-31. 
  • Gildestad T, et al. 2020. Maternal use of folic acid and multivitamin supplements and infant risk of birth defects in Norway 1999-2013. Br J Nutr. 1-38. 
  • Gomez MG, et al. 2024. Global Neurosurgery at the 76th World Health Assembly (2023): First neurosurgery-driven resolution calls for micronutrient fortification to prevent spina bifida. World Neurosurg. S1878-8750(24)00101-3.  
  • Hodgetts VA, et al. 2015. Effectiveness of folic acid supplementation in pregnancy on reducing the risk of small-for-gestational age neonates: a population study, systematic review and meta-analysis. BJOG. 122:478–490. 
  • Ito K, et al. 2019. Association between maternal serum folate concentrations in the first trimester and the risk of birth defects: The Hokkaido Study of Environment and Children’s Health. J Epidemiol. 29(4):164-171.  
  • Levine SZ, et al. 2018. Association of maternal use of folic acid and multivitamin supplements in the periods before and during pregnancy with the risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring. JAMA Psychiatry. 75(2):176-184. Liu C, et al. 2018. Supplementation of folic acid in pregnancy and the risk of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension: a meta-analysis. Arch Gynecol Obstet.; 298:697–704.  
  • Liu X, et al. 2023. Folic acid supplements and perinatal mortality in China. Front Nutr. 10:1281971.  
  • Li X, et al. 2023. Effects of folic acid and folic acid plus zinc supplements on the sperm characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of infertile men: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Heliyon. 13;9(7):e18224.  
  • Mohseni GK, et al. 2025. Association of spontaneous abortion with dietary folate intake in individuals with different genotypes of FTO gene. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 25(1):961. 
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements. 2022. Folate Fact Sheet for Consumers. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-Consumer/ [Accessed01/2026]. 
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements. 2022. Folate Fact Sheet for Health Professionals. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/ [Accessed /01/2026]. 
  • Pittschieler S, et al. 2008. Spontaneous abortion and the prophylactic effect of folic acid supplementation in epileptic women undergoing antiepileptic therapy. J Neurol. 255(12):1926-31. 
  • Raghavan R, et al. 2018. Maternal multivitamin intake, plasma folate and vitamin B12 levels and autism spectrum disorder risk in offspring. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 32(1):100-111. 
  • Schmidt RJ, et al. 2012. Maternal periconceptional folic acid intake and risk of autism spectrum disorders and developmental delay in the CHARGE (CHildhood Autism Risks from Genetics and Environment) case-control study. Am J Clin Nutr. 96(1):80-9. 
  • Surén P, et al. 2013. Association between maternal use of folic acid supplements and risk of autism spectrum disorders in children. JAMA. 309(6):570-7. 
  • Toriello H. 2011. Policy Statement on Folic Acid and Neural Tube Defects. Genet Med 13.6: 593-96.  
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 2024. Folate and Folic Acid on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/folate-and-folic-acid-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels [Accessed 01/2026]. 
  • Wang G, et al. 2016. Association between maternal pregnancy body mass index and plasma folate concentrations with child metabolic health. JAMA Pediatr. 170(8):e160845. 
  • Wantong H, et al. 2024. Periconceptional supplementation with folic acid or multiple micronutrients containing folic acid and the risk for hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Med Princ Pract. 33(6):578-586.  
  • Wen S, et al. 2016. Folic acid supplementation in pregnancy and the risk of pre-eclampsia—A cohort study. PLoS ONE 11.2 . 
  • Wong W, et al. 2002. Effects of folic acid and zinc sulfate on male factor subfertility: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Fertility and Sterility 77:491-8. 
  • World Health Organization (WHO). 2009. Recommendations on wheat and maize flour fortification: meeting report – interim consensus statement. http://www.who.int/nutrition/publications/micronutrients/wheat_maize_fortification/en/ [Accessed 01/2026].  
  • Young SS, et al. 2008. The association of folate, zinc and antioxidant intake with sperm aneuploidy in healthy non-smoking men. Hum. Reprod. 23(5):1014-1022. 
  • Zhang M, et al. 2025. Duration of folic acid supplementation and adverse pregnancy outcomes: A prospective multicenter cohort study in China. Nutrients. 18(1):81.  

 

 

 

 

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