if you are TTC- trying to conceive or just a woman of birthing age

i guess this is kind of a PSA of sorts.
but in anatomy and physiology last semester we learned about the divisions that the human egg undergoes. as well as the divisions of the sperm.
and then this information i learned in a book called "fertility, cycles, and nutrition" : that 95% of trisomies are because of problems arising during egg cell division(the mom).
AND further- proper amounts of folic acid are needed for healthy egg cell division.

so ladies, put that ALL together and it comes out as this...

birth defects like downs syndrome, trisomy 18, and trisomy 13 arise long before conception. they arise as your body busily goes about making eggs. we shouldn't begin to take prenatal vitamins when we find out we are pregnant. we should be taking them everyday between marriage and menopause, switching to a menopausal supplement after that.

i didn't want to bring this up at first because when i first put it together i dealt with some guilt- knowing i was the one who possibly caused jedidiah's genetic defect. i didn't want any other tri moms to feel guilty. but i realized that it was just short dark moment, and that it shouldn't stop me from possibly preventing future babies' problems.