Some poor personal habits may cause people to have lower levels of folic acid in their bodies. Drug and alcohol users often do not eat a well-balanced diet. Studies have shown that cigarette smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol and long use of birth control pills actually lower the amount of folic acid in a person's body. If you fall into any of these categories, it is even more important that you take a multivitamin with folic acid every day. Taking more than one multivitamin pill may be harmful to you and your unborn baby.
Folic acid is a very safe vitamin.
Women who have had a baby with a neural tube defect have a two to three percent chance of having another NTD affected pregnancy. Folic acid has been found to reduce greatly the risk of another NTD affected pregnancy in these women. If you are planning to become pregnant, you need to speak with your doctor or nurse midwife about your increased risk. Your doctor or nurse midwife will discuss the increased amount of folic acid you need to take daily. It is well recognized that NTDs may be caused by a number of environmental agents and genetic factors.