It is well known that pregnant woman need to be on folic acid to prevent against neural tube defect. Neural tube defect can manifest as spina bifida (cleft in the spinal column) or as abnormalities in brain development. In 1996 the US Preventative Service Task Force (USPTF) first published its folic acid recommendation of 0.4 mg (400mcg) during the prenatal period and 0.8 mg (800 mcg) during pregnancy to prevent against neural tube defect.

New research is now showing that folic acid supplementation prevents against cleft lips (http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/150/9/626) and decreases the incidence of congenital heart defects (http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/338/may12_2/b1673?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=folic+acid+and+congenital+heart+disease&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=338&resourcetype=HWCIT).  If you’re taking a prenatal vitamin, you are likely getting all the folic acid you need (0.8mg-1.0mg). If you are thinking about getting pregnant, make sure you are taking adequate amounts of folic acid (0.4mg-1.0mg) to maximize its benefits.