Prenatal

Folic Acid Supplementation
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Folic Acid Supplementation
Folic acid supplementation during is important for women before they conceive and during pregnancy. The body requires folic acid for DNA replication, metabolism of various vitamins, and in the biosynthesis of amino acids which make up proteins. Folic acid is also important in preventing anemia (Sanghvi, Harvey, & Wainwright, 2010). The body requires folic acid in high amounts during pregnancy. The response to the articles highlights a few things that I agree with.
One article is published in a scientific journal, Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology. The article highlights the major functions of folic acid in the body and its necessity in pregnant women. The paper also discusses the association between neural tube defects and folic acid deficiency in detail. The risk of developing neural tube defects is the primary reason why pregnant women are advised to take folate supplementation (Greenberg et al., 2011). The article uses scientific evidence and discussions that make it hard for a person who lacks a medical background to understand its contents. However, the paper is informative and concise.
The second article is published on Web Med, a website. The article is easy to follow and is probably meant for people without a medical background. The website is easy to navigate, and the contents are easy to follow and understand (Folic Acid Benefits in Pregnancy, n.d.). The site also has numerous articles on related issues in reproductive health, which makes it useful for pregnant women.

The two articles indicate that folic acid is important not only during pregnancy but for normal bodily functions. In addition to taking folic acid tablets, women are encouraged to choose foods that are rich in folic acid. The dietary sources of folates include cereals and wheat-based products such as pasta (Crider, Bailey, & Berry, 2011). I would recommend the second article to mothers who are interested in learning about folate supplementation.
References
Crider, K. S., Bailey, L. B., & Berry, R. J. (2011). Folic acid food fortification—its history, effect, concerns, and future directions. Nutrients, 3(3), 370-384.
Folic Acid Benefits in Pregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/baby/folic-acid-and-pregnancy#2
Greenberg, J. A., Bell, S. J., Guan, Y., & Yu, Y. H. (2011). Folic acid supplementation and pregnancy: more than just neural tube defect prevention. Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 4(2), 52.
Sanghvi, T. G., Harvey, P. W., & Wainwright, E. (2010). Maternal iron–folic acid supplementation programs: evidence of impact and implementation. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 31(2_suppl2), S100-S107.