The role of folic acid in promoting reproductive health and pregnancy outcomes

Abstract

Throughout the past several years, there has been growing interest in folic acid as a crucial micronutrient that has several beneficial health outcomes. Given folic acid's crucial role in DNA synthesis and methylation, it is involved in several processes, especially during development. Although folic acid has been studied previously with several disease processes such as neural tube defects, different types of cancer and even Alzheimer's disease, specific attention has not been given to folic acid and reproductive health and other pregnancy outcomes such as implantation, embryogenesis and live birth. This thesis will examine the specific effects that folic acid could have in maintaining the reproductive health in women and men as well. The conclusion was reached that folic acid plays a critical role in several phases of reproductive health including maintenance of reproductive hormone levels in woman, protection against anovulation and spontaneous abortions as well improving sperm quality in males. Taken together, folic acid could be an inexpensive, convenient supplement for maintaining reproductive health as well as for couples who are attempting to begin and maintain a healthy pregnancy.