Folate (or folic acid) is a B vitamin that plays an important role in preventing neural tube defects, which are major defects of the brain and/or spine. These defects happen in the first few weeks of pregnancy—often before a woman knows she’s pregnant. Since about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, experts recommend that every woman of childbearing age take a folate supplement, just in case. Your partner should get around 600 micrograms per day during the pregnancy. Some docs bump that to 800 micrograms per day for the first trimester. Folate is so important that many grain products,
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