Every parent-to-be worries about the possibility of birth defects. While the risk is slight—affecting only about 3 percent of babies born in the U.S.—prenatal problems remain common enough to cause concern. So, be sure to balance these three essential vitamins.

Talk with a qualified healthcare provider to learn how to have a healthy pregnancy and reduce your baby’s risk of birth defects. You have more control over your child’s well-being than you may realize. Taking a prenatal multivitamin/mineral that has well-balanced B vitamins, even before you conceive, is important to your baby’s health.

Folate/Folic Acid

The clear champion against birth defects is folic acid—up to 70 percent of all neural tube defects can be prevented if women get sufficient folic acid before and during pregnancy, finds the March of Dimes. Folate helps to form red blood cells and to produce DNA, which carries genetic information. Like most B vitamins, it’s water soluble, which means it cannot be stored in the body. You’ll need a continuous supply of this valuable vitamin from your diet and/or multivitamin/mineral.

Folate is the form of vitamin B found naturally in foods; folic acid is the synthetic form of folate used in vitamin supplements and to fortify foods. The first is plentiful in dried beans and other legumes, oranges and orange juice, peanuts, and green, leafy vegetables like spinach and romaine lettuce. The latter is available in fortified grain foods like bread, flour, cornmeal, rice, pasta, and ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.

A woman’s folate requirement jumps to 800 micrograms daily during pregnancy, and during lactation it remains high, at 600 micrograms daily. Folic acid has no known toxic level, although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still recommends that women consume no more than 1,000 micrograms of synthetic folic acid a day.

Vitamins B6 & 12

Folic acid needs to work together with the other Bs—two in particular—for optimal advantage. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) helps form red blood cells and allows the body to use protein, fat, and carbohydrates effectively. Good food sources include bananas, beef liver, ham, and whole grains.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is vital for the absorption of nutrients during digestion, helps support the nervous system, and is necessary to form red blood cells. Liver, meat, fish, poultry, and milk are good sources; vegetarians need to make sure their prenatal multivitamin/mineral has an adequate source of B12 since it is primarily available in animal foods.

All Together

B vitamins are generally best taken in a balanced complex: An excess of one component may lead to depletion of the others. In addition, folic acid, B6, and B12 work together to keep homocysteine levels low, which is important for heart health. So ask your doctor about a high-quality prenatal vitamin, and make sure your diet includes good sources of this powerhouse trio.