Need of Assessment of Folic Acid and Vitamin B12 in Pregnancy

Abstract

Pregnancy symptoms and complications can range from mild and annoying discomforts to severe, sometimes life-threatening illnesses. Problems during pregnancy may include physical and mental conditions that affect the health of the mother or the baby. One such complication is thyroid dysfunction noticed in pregnancy. Hypothyroidism is relatively common in pregnancy and is very important to treat. Estimated prevalence of overt hypothyroidism is 0.3-0.5%, subclinical hypothyroidism is 2-3% and 8-14% of women in child bearing age are positive to thyroid antibodies. Most common causes include chronic autoimmune thyroiditis and iodine deficiency. It may be also due to modifications in autoimmune regulation and placental deiodinase role. Folic acid an essential micronutrient in all stages of life, it plays an important role in the synthesis of DNA, methylation reactions, development and maintenance of healthy nervous system.