I'm 8 wks pregnant & have been taking folic acid since i discovered my pregnancy 2 wks ago. Everything I read tells me that folic acid in the first 4 wks is crucial. Although my doctor's response is 'you can't turn back the clock', I'm now worried sick that my lack of awareness has damaged my baby. Everything i read compounds this fear further & i'm now dreading my first scan. Am i the only one??
Thanks for your time
Natalie

they say to take it 3 months before trying to conceive and like u said during the beginning of your pregnancy but i wouldnt freak out coz think about how many people dont know they are pregnant , most people dont find out til they are a month or more gone and these people have healthy babies too.

the cant turn back the clock response is annoying but its true, you are taking it now and im sure youll take good care of yourself and thats all that matters. a lot of what we do is just extra things to try and prevent abnormalities but it doesnt mean if you do it or dont do it that it will def make a difference. congrats on your pregnancy.

try not to worry hun. With my 1st I didn't know the suggested taking it B4 you conceive so only started taking it when I knew I was pg which was at about 6-7 weeks.
Little man is now 6 and absolutley fine.

With DD I was more prepared and started taking as soon as I stopped taking BC pill so was taking for ~ 2-3 weeks conceived.

DD3 was unplanned so again didn't start folic acid until I was nearly 6 weeks. Again LO is fine.

It is taken to prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida, it is only a big issue if there is a history of problems.

Lots of foods contain folic acid anyway so you will be getting some.

Make sure you take it now & try not to worry.

Hellooooo & welcome!!

I didn't find out I was pregnant till I was about 3 weeks. Before that I hadn't been taking folic acid and had been going out drinking and eating things I shouldn't. My pregnancy wasn't planned so when I found out I stopped drinking and started to take folic acid until 12 weeks. If you start taking them now i'm sure your baby will be fine =] besides which, people can go for months without knowing they're pregnant and manage to have healthy babies, it's really just the risk factor

Welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately the doctor is right and you can't turn back the clock and change things. I know that they recommend taking folic acid for three months prior to conceiving but honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it. My mom had five kids, 4 of us were completely unplanned--she didn't take any kind of supplements until after she found out she was pregnant and all of us turned out fine.

Thank you so much everyone for your responses. I feel so much better than i did this morning, having read a book last night which stated in no uncertain terms that you HAVE to take folic acid before conception to prevent spina bifida and that was that.

I hate the fact that these books assume everyone has a perfectly planned pregnancy. It just ends up leaving those who aren't so perfect and organised feeling remorseful, panicked, guilty and terrified of the damage they have done. I was also drinking red wine like it was going out of fashion before i realised i was pregnant and every blo**dy book and website has made me feel horrendous for that too - did i miss that meeting all women were supposed to go to as soon as soon as they started menstruating which warned us we had to take folic acid, be tee-total and eat like Gillian Mckeith in case we ever got pregnant??!

It's so nice to hear from other real women who, like me, haven't done it perfectly but have done their best since finding out the happy news. Thanks so much for taking the time - I'll sleep much better tonight than i did last night.

Good luck with all your pregnancies xxx

I craved prawns just b4 I got my BFP, I was eating them as if they were gonna be extinct. Books and the web can be great for stressing you out.

Try not to worry I'm sure everything will be fine.

Im sure that there are plunty of woman out there that did not take folic acid before they got preg, and there babies are just fine. Im sure yours will be too

Welcome to B&B