Folic Acid to keep frolic always!

The birth of a baby is one occasion that brings about immense joy and happiness to the entire family. We do believe that looks are only skin deep, but God forbid something like this to happen to anyone, imagine seeing for the first time your bundle of joy, delivered as a blessing directly from the hands of God to be a not so perfect baby with a cleft lip or a cleft palate. Imagine the shock or the pain that one as a new mom or a dad will go through. We will love our baby no matter what but will the society treat them the same way? Today with developments in medical industry the number of such cases have come down but still there are about 4400 such cases being recorded in the United States alone each year. So what exactly is a cleft lip or palate?Cleft lip is a physical split or separation of the two sides of the upper lip and appears as a narrow opening or gap in the skin of the upper lip. Cleft palate is a split or opening in the roof of the mouth. Children suffering from this may have difficulties in speaking and eating depending on the intensity of the defect. I personally knew someone who carried a baby to full term knowing that the baby had a severe case of cleft lip and cleft palate. The doctors had diagnosed this during the fifth month ultrasound scan, but by then it was too late to do anything. It was so severe that doctors had told her that the baby might never talk in its entire life. She spent the rest of her pregnancy crying and praying for a miracle to happen. And finally she ended up giving birth to a stillborn baby. I saw her suffer and the pain she went through was undefined. Atleast her pain ended there, had the baby been born alive, it would have been the start of another series of pain for both her and her baby. Did you know that this is preventable to a certain extent though it is genetic and environmental based. Yes you heard it right! With the help of frolic acid, which is a form of vitamin B found in folate,easily available as a vitamin tablet or naturally available in green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits. Doctors will recommend that you start taking folic acid every day for at least a month before you become pregnant, and every day while you are pregnant. However, it is also recommended that all women of childbearing age or those planning to have a baby, take folic acid every day. Various risks can be reduced by taking folic acid before and during pregnancy, these are mentioned below: Cleft lip and palate Premature birth Low birth weight Miscarriage Poor growth in the womb Pre-eclampsia Lack of sufficient quantities of folic acid in your body, your baby's neural tube may not close correctly and they could develop health problems called neural tube defects. These include: Spina bifida: incomplete development of the spinal cord or the vertebrae Anencephaly: incomplete development of major parts of the brain The recommended dose of folic acid per day in adults is 400mcg. Start taking these from today if you are planning on having babies or start a family, trying to concieve or are in various stages of your pregnancy. I did take them from three months before I became pregnant through my entire pregnancy period. I have personally recommended folic acid tablets to all my friends who are trying to start a family. Won't you join in with me and others trying to fight off cleft lip by taking folic acid tablets to give your baby a better start to life? Anamaya Indo pacific is an organization that is working towards making India free from several birth defects using preventable methods that are really cheap and affordable rates. Check out their website on http://anamayaindopacific.org/ for more details and follow them on facebook for regular updates https://www.facebook.com/Anamayaindopacific