Answer from: Xanthi Maragkoudaki, MSc, ANutr, PhD
Folic acid is very important before pregnancy because it helps with promoting a very healthy pregnancy so, it’s very important as well to take it before pregnancy, not only does it help with fertility but it it has also been shown in a very big study in the late 1990s that women who have taken 400 micrograms of folic acid had not have children with neural tube defects while women who were at the control of the study and did not take the supplements actually had more chances of having children who had neural tube defects. So, it’s very important to take that into consideration and if you are at a reproductive age, it’s good to take a supplement of folic acid.
Answer from: Lucy Lines
I’m not sure about that one. I think folic acid has a big impact on the fetal development of the neural tube and it’s really important to have enough folic acid in your body when you’re pregnant, so that the neural tube of the baby develops correctly but as far as IVF itself is concerned I wouldn’t really think it had much impact at that point.
