Summarize the following:
If you’re pregnant—or trying to get pregnant—talk to your doctor about folic acid. It’s important that you do this as early in the pregnancy as possible, preferably even before you’ve actually conceived. Ideally, you should take folic acid for a full month prior to conception and during the first trimester that you’re pregnant. If the pregnancy is unplanned and you find out 2 or 3 months in, talk to your doctor and start taking folic acid as soon as possible. Folic acid is crucial to the development of fetuses because it helps prevent neural tube defects (NTDs). NTD's can result in birth defects in the brain or spinal cord, such as anencephaly and spina bifida, respectively. If anyone in your family has an NTD, your doctor may recommend that you take a higher dosage of folic acid. This will help prevent the NTD from being passed to your child.  Also tell your doctor if you have kidney disease, are an alcoholic, or have any type of anemia. If you have any of these conditions, your doctor will need to adjust your dosage of folic acid.  If your doctor suggests that you take a higher dosage of folic acid due to a health condition, follow the dosage directions given by your doctor. This is the recommended daily dosage for pregnant women. Some organizations, such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health, suggest that pregnant women take 600 mcg of folic acid each day. Although pregnant women can safely take up to 1,000 mcg of folic acid daily, it’s best to work with your doctor to decide on a specific dosage. If you take a prenatal vitamin supplement, it likely contains all the folic acid you’ll need. Many prenatal vitamins contain 800–1,000 mcg of folic acid. Don’t stop taking folic acid as soon as you’ve delivered your baby. Taking folic acid while breastfeeding will ensure that the infant continues to receive the health benefits from the vitamin. Check with your doctor to make sure that you should continue taking folic acid post-delivery. Generally, breastfeeding women should take 500 mcg of folic acid daily. Anemic individuals struggle with low energy and other health complications caused by a low red blood cell count. Doctors will often suggest that people with anemia take folic acid—often along with other medications—for a few months to increase the speed of their blood-count regeneration.  As with any other medical condition, seek your doctor’s input before taking folic acid for a medical condition. The recommended or prescribed dosage may vary, and it can be dangerous to self-medicate without consulting a doctor. The dosage your doctor suggests will vary based on your age and the severity of your anemia.

summary: Ask your doctor about taking folic acid. Tell your doctor if you have a genetic history of neural tube defects. Consume at least 400 mcg of folic acid a day. Continue to take folic acid while breastfeeding. Take folic acid to combat or prevent anemia.


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When you learn that you’ll be chairing an upcoming meeting, one of the first things you should do is to spend a little time talking to the people who will be attending (especially high-ranking or important people). Ask them if there’s anything they’d specifically like to discuss at the meeting. Take note of their answers and use them to guide you when you write your agenda. Asking your attendees about what they’d like to discuss is a smart move not only because it makes it easier to write an agenda, but also because it engages them in the meeting process before it’s even begun. People are more likely to attend and pay attention during meetings if they know that issues important to them will be addressed. A meeting agenda can be a valuable tool not just for a meeting’s chairperson, but also for the guests in attendance. Agendas contain valuable information about the meeting like when it will be, where it will take place, and who will be in attendance. Most importantly, they also outline all of the intended topics of discussion, allowing everyone to prepare. Send your meeting out in advance of the meeting itself — the more important your meeting is, the earlier you should send it. One thing that your agenda should definitely contain is an approximate time limit for each topic of discussion. Having a rough schedule outlined beforehand makes it much easier to keep your meeting on-track. Though some items on your agenda may run long (and others may run short), a schedule makes it much easier to keep track of these items and adjust accordingly. The people who attend your meeting may not be up-to-speed on all of the topics you plan to discuss — some may not have attended past meetings, while others may have simply forgotten. As the meeting chair, it’s a good idea to know the history of discussion thus far. Try talking to people who attended previous important meetings to learn any important unfinished business that you should address in your meeting. You may also want to request the minutes of past meetings from an official record-keeper to help direct your planning. The minutes from previous meetings can be an important resource to you as chair. These summarize the discussions and decisions that occurred during past meetings, making it relatively quick and easy to get up-to-speed. You may even want to distribute important meeting minutes to your attendees with your agenda. On the day of your meeting, you’ll want to ensure that the room or place you intend to meet in is clean, presentable, and ready to accommodate your attendees. You’ll want to make certain that any technological components of the meeting (like presentations, projectors, displays, etc.) are functioning properly and are completely ready to go — technical snafus can waste valuable time and put your meeting off track. If you're using an electronic presentation (like PowerPoint, etc.), take a moment to familiarize yourself with the remote control or clicker you'll be using to cycle through your slides. You don't want to waste time fumbling with your controls when you could be discussing important issues.
summary: Discuss the upcoming meeting with your attendees. Write and distribute an agenda. Research the discussion topics and any previous meetings. Get your meeting space ready ahead of time.