Vitamin B9, also called folic acid, is a vitamin essential for the proper functioning of our body throughout our life. But, it is absolutely necessary in pregnant women as its role is essential for the development of the baby. Studies have even shown that it increases the chances of getting pregnant.

Vitamin B9 is a water-soluble vitamin essential for cell multiplication and the production of genetic material (including DNA). It participates in the production of red and white blood cells, the renewal of the skin and the lining of the intestine, as well as the synthesis of chemicals that modulate the functioning of the brain. At the very beginning of pregnancy, folic acid plays a major role in the formation of the nervous system of the embryo.

Vitamin B9 cannot be synthesized by the human body and must therefore be provided through food. It is also called “folates” – from the Latin folium – recalling that it is very present in green leafy vegetables.

Foods that contain the most:

• Dark green vegetables: spinach, chard, watercress, butter beans, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, romaine lettuce, etc.
• Legumes: lentils (oranges, green, black), lentils, dried beans, broad beans, peas (split, chick, whole).
• Orange-colored fruits: oranges, clementines, tangerines, melon

recommendation: consume legumes at least every 2-3 days and try to choose the greenest vegetables possible!

Folic acid (also called folic acid or folate) is a valuable vitamin for all people of childbearing age. It plays an important role in fertility in both women and men:

• In women

Research conducted at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, has shown that adding micronutrients to the diet, including folic acid, could greatly increase the chances of getting pregnant by helping everyone’s health. menstrual cycles and ovulation. Vitamin B9 could even act as a remedy for female infertility.

• In humans

Several recent studies show that folic acid plays a major role in spermatogenesis. It would act on the quality and quantity of sperm. Zinc and vitamin B9 supplements would increase the concentration of sperm that can fertilize the egg.

During pregnancy, the need for Vitamins B9 is markedly increased. This vitamin is indeed essential to ensure the development of the neural tube of the fetus which corresponds to the outline of the spinal cord, and therefore to the formation of its nervous system.

For pregnant women, ensuring that they meet their vitamin B9 needs and those of their unborn baby means significantly reducing the risk of neural tube closure abnormalities and in particular of spina bifida, which corresponds to incomplete development of spine. The risks of very serious malformations such as anencephaly (malformations of the brain and skull) are also greatly reduced.

Folic acid also ensures good growth of the fetus throughout the first trimester.

As the neural tube closes between the third and fourth week of fetal life, every woman should be prescribed vitamin B9 supplementation as soon as she wishes to become pregnant to avoid any deficiency leading to serious consequences for newborns.

Folic acid supplementation should be continued during the first three months of pregnancy to ensure optimal growth of the fetus.

Moreover, the HAS (Haute Autorité de Santé) recommends the systematic prescription of vitamin B9 supplementation at a rate of 400 µg (0,4 mg) per day from the desire for pregnancy and at least 4 weeks before conception and until the 10th week of pregnancy (12 weeks).