Irish women with the lowest vitamin B12 levels were five times more likely to have a baby with a neural tube defect than those with the highest levels, the researchers wrote in the journal Pediatrics.
Dr. James Mills of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, one of the researchers, said the study showed that vitamin B12 deficiency was a risk factor for neural tube defects independent of folic acid, another B vitamin.
"An absolutely critical point is that women have to consider this before they become pregnant because once they realize they are pregnant it's likely to be too late," Mills, a researcher in the NIH's National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in a telephone interview.
The developmental events involved in these birth defects occur in the first four weeks of pregnancy, Mills said.
Mills urged women who do not eat meat or dairy products to be particularly aware of the need to get enough vitamin B12.
He had similar advice for women with an intestinal disorder such as inflammatory bowel disease that may prevent them from absorbing sufficient amounts of the vitamin.
The study involved almost 1,200 women in Ireland who gave blood samples during early pregnancy, which were analyzed to determine vitamin B12 levels.
The women in the lowest 25 percent of vitamin B12 levels were five times more likely than those in the highest 25 percent to have had a baby with a neural tube defect.
The researchers suggested that women have vitamin B12 levels above 300 nanograms per liter before getting pregnant.
Bonnie - of course B-12 is crucial for preventing birth defects. Folic Acid and B-12 are inextricably linked no matter what stage of life one is in. This is one of the main reasons why I recommend that any woman who is thinking of getting pregnant start on a quality prenatal multivitamin/mineral. For women who accidentally get pregnant, if they are still taking a daily multivitamin/mineral, they should be well protected.
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