Folic acid is also known as folate or a form of vitamin B. this vitamin if taken before a pregnancy is said to increase the chances of having a twin baby or to avoid neural tube defect. A new study published in journal Epidemiology says that there is no proof for this common belief.
The study was conducted to monitor the possible adverse effects of this vitamin, especially because there are some countries were it is a common practice to add this vitamin to flour. The research also looked into the effect of folic acid on twin pregnancies.Researchers conducted a population-based study of 176042 women in Norway who gave birth from December 1998 to December 2001 use of folate and multivitamin was recorded from the mandatory notification form of the country’s Medical Birth Registry.
The results showed weak relationship between use of multivitamins and folic acid during pregnancy and having twin babies. The researchers are of the opinion that this could be due to increase in vitamin intake after being confirmed of a twin pregnancy. The study brings into focus that taking of folic acid before pregnancy does not have an effective result of conceiving twin babies.
Reference: http://www.epidem.com/pt/re/epidemiology/
