I know how important it is to take folic acid tablets for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, so as soon as we decided to try for a second baby, i bought enough supplies to last.

However, when I visited my nurse this week, we dont have midwives here, she told me that i should be taking it throughout the whole pregnancy which I thought was quite bizzare, and so do my three friends who are nurses, two of which have had midwife training and children of there own. My first scan showed no problems, so does anyone here know why I would have been told to continue taking them?

Excellent question Fay, I have been wondering the same thing myself, hopefully some one here knows.

Here we have the prenatal vitamins that are crucial for the healthy development of the baby. Folic acid is one of the most important vitamins that you need. I would suggest you get some good prenatal multivitamins and take them EVERY DAY. Ok I will type what my book says (your pregnancy week by week)

Folic acid is a B vitamin (B9) that can contribute to a heatlhy pregnancy. If a mother to be takes 0.4mg (400 micrograms) each day starting 3-4 months BEFORE pregnancy begins it may protect her developing baby against various birth defects of the spine and brain called "nueral tube defects".
A folic acid deficiency can also result in anemia of the mother-to-be.
A prenatal vitamin contains 0.8mg to 1mg of folic acid and this is sufficient for a women with a normal pregnancy.
Because folic acid is not stored in the body for very long, it must be replaced every day. You can also eat some foods that contain folic acid such as fruits, legumes, brewers yeast, soybeans, whole grain products and dark leafy vegetables.

So I hope that helps a little bit. So folic acid is definetely necessary in any pregnancy and it's a good idea to take it every day. The multivitamin is also packed with every other vitamin that you may not receive every day. So talk to your doctor about that and think about picking some up

Ive read that you only need to take it for the first 12 weeks as this is when neural tube defects are most likely to occur...

hmmm.. It is very important to take it the first 12 weeks but i've been told that it's better too if you take a prenatal vitamin throughout your whole pregnancy and even when you breastfeed. You dont have to. But I do I just want to make sure I have a nice healthy baby. Im just paranoid that way.

My OB didnt tell me anything I just noticed on my bottle of prenatals I have 9 refills so I assume that means take everyday for 9 months lol

My doctor told me she was part of a study in which some women only took folic acid for the first three months, and others took it throughout their entire pregnancy. She said that though the results are not published yet, the women who continued to take the folic acid throughout their entire pregnancy (including her) had less chance of premature labour and some complications.

I took them all the way through my first pregnancy and through this pregnancy,I take Blackmoores Pregnancy and breastfeeding Gold.My doctor suggested I do this for as long as I am pregnant and breast feeding

Blackmores is a good brand ladies!

I recommend it all the time..

My doctor prescribed me to take folic acid in the beginning of my second trimester because we found out I was having twins, not sure what that has to do with anything though =]