Birth defects prevented by vitamin B12

Before becoming pregnant, women need to get enough vitamin B12 in addition to folic acid to cut their risk of having a baby with a serious birth defect of the brain and spinal cord. Neural tube defects can lead to lifelong disability or death. The two most common such defects are spina bifida, in which the spinal cord and backbones do not form properly, and anencephaly, a fatal condition in which the brain and skull bones do not develop normally. The developmental events involved in these birth defects occur in the first four weeks of pregnancy. Vitamin B12 is essential to maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells. It is found in meat, dairy products, eggs, fish, shellfish and fortified breakfast cereals. It can also be taken as an individual supplement or in a multivitamin. Researchers from America studied 1179 women whose blood samples were taken during early pregnancy. The samples were analysed to determine vitamin B12 levels. It was found that the women with the lowest 25 percent vitamin B12 levels were 5 times more likely than those in the highest 25 percent to have had a baby with a neural tube defect. The researchers concluded that vitamin B12 deficiency was a risk factor for neural tube defects independent of folic acid (another vitamin of the B complex group). They suggested that women should have vitamin B12 levels above 300 nanograms per litre before getting pregnant.

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