Daily HealthBeat Tip

Healthy babies start young.

From the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

For a baby, good eating begins long before birth. What a pregnant woman eats is passed along to the fetus, so Mom's eating right helps Baby.

The vitamin folic acid, for example: It helps cells to grow properly.

Folic acid is in foods such as beans or leafy green vegetables. Many breads, cereals and other grain products are fortified with folic acid. To be sure they get enough, women may also want to take a daily multivitamin.

A baby in the womb needs folic acid to ward off birth defects in the brain and spine. Timing counts: It's crucial to take folic acid for at least a month before you get pregnant. All women who could become pregnant need to take folic acid every day. U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona:

"People used to talk about women who were planning to get pregnant, but then we found out that half the women who get pregnant don't plan to get pregnant."

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: August 3, 2005

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