
Folic acid and pregnancy.
Hi, I've got two questions:
I'm not yet pregnant, but my doctor has prescribed folic acid for me. What is it for?
I have also been taking my temperature in the mornings for the past few months, to plot my fertility graph. It doesn't seem to be high enough: normally 36.5 by the 16th day, then 36.7 (day 17), 36.8 (day 18) and 36.9 (day 19). It then gradually goes back down to 36.5. Does this mean I'm not ovulating, or that I have a hormone imbalance? Please help me, thank you.
Folic acid (vitamin B9) helps your body to make DNA, which is very useful. It also helps regulate sexual hormones; ovulation; fertilisation and helps prevent anaemia by making haemoglobin and red blood cells. It also guards against spinal and brain defects in the unborn child, later on in pregnancy. It is prescribed by doctors before and during the early stages of pregnancy and also at the end, along with iron, if the mother becomes anaemic.
Look at your temperature chart as a whole, over the cours of several cycles to get a realistic picture of your fertility. If these measurements are the same over several months, it could mean you have a problem making corpora lutea after the release of each egg (progesterone-rich mass of cells which forms at the ovarian follicle after the a ripe egg is released). Speak to your doctor and ask for hormone trztment to sort the problem out.
|