Just getting around to reading many of the posts on this forum. I have a comment on this one. The statement you made that the use of folic acid in pregnancy is a leading cause of miscarriage is patently false. The NIH article you linked to support that claim says literally nothing to that effect. It studies the effect of HIGH DOSE folic acid therapy (5 times higher than in even prescription prenatal vitamins) in patients with a particular genetic mutation at the point in our DNA that breaks down folic acid into its usable form. People with the MTHFR mutation cannot do this as effectively as those without it. This inability can cause fertility issues and higher rates of birth defects. The study was stating that it’s unnecessary (but not harmful) to use extremely high doses to overcome the methylation block, and that standard doses found in prenatal or daily vitamins are sufficient (and vital) to aid these patients in becoming pregnant and in reducing the risk of neural tube defects. I know all of this intimately because I carry two copies of the mutated MTHFR gene, and was closely monitored through my last pregnancy as a result of the previous child being stillborn with a significant neural tube defect (among other issues). A lot of words to say...folic acid supplementation doesn’t cause miscarriage. It does prevent neural tube defects.
In fact...here’s a link to another NIH article that supports folic acid supplementation to help PREVENT miscarriage. Happy reading!
Are we sure that one dude from Arizona represents all there is to the "Pro-life platform"? I find that generalization... disturbing.
Just getting around to reading many of the posts on this forum. I have a comment on this one. The statement you made that the use of folic acid in pregnancy is a leading cause of miscarriage is patently false. The NIH article you linked to support that claim says literally nothing to that effect. It studies the effect of HIGH DOSE folic acid therapy (5 times higher than in even prescription prenatal vitamins) in patients with a particular genetic mutation at the point in our DNA that breaks down folic acid into its usable form. People with the MTHFR mutation cannot do this as effectively as those without it. This inability can cause fertility issues and higher rates of birth defects. The study was stating that it’s unnecessary (but not harmful) to use extremely high doses to overcome the methylation block, and that standard doses found in prenatal or daily vitamins are sufficient (and vital) to aid these patients in becoming pregnant and in reducing the risk of neural tube defects. I know all of this intimately because I carry two copies of the mutated MTHFR gene, and was closely monitored through my last pregnancy as a result of the previous child being stillborn with a significant neural tube defect (among other issues). A lot of words to say...folic acid supplementation doesn’t cause miscarriage. It does prevent neural tube defects.
In fact...here’s a link to another NIH article that supports folic acid supplementation to help PREVENT miscarriage. Happy reading!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4086728/