TempoLife › Features › Reference intakes by nutrient, age and sex › pregnancy
Folate in pregnancy
Six hundred micrograms of dietary folate equivalents a day, nearly double the adult figure and the largest proportional pregnancy increase of any nutrient on this site. Rapid cell division is the reason.
EFSA note on this row: nearly double the adult value
These are published population reference values, not a diagnosis and not a prescription. A reference intake describes what covers a healthy group; it cannot tell you your own status, and no page can. Pregnancy, chronic illness, medicines and malabsorption all change the picture — take those questions to a doctor, midwife, pharmacist or dietitian.
Why the requirement almost doubles
Folate is required for the synthesis of nucleotides, which means it is required to make DNA, which means it is required wherever cells are dividing quickly. Pregnancy is the biggest sustained increase in cell division a body ever undertakes: the fetus, the placenta, the uterus and a substantially expanded maternal red cell mass.
EFSA sets 600 micrograms of dietary folate equivalents a day for pregnancy against 330 for other adults. Breastfeeding sits at 500, still well above the general figure.
The supplement and the requirement are separate things
The 400 microgram folic acid supplement recommended from before conception through the first twelve weeks is a targeted intervention against neural tube defects. The 600 microgram figure is the general nutritional requirement for the whole pregnancy. They overlap in time and are often confused, but they answer different questions and neither replaces the other.
Many antenatal multivitamins contain folic acid, and some contain other things — vitamin A among them — that pregnancy guidance restricts. Reading the label, or having a pharmacist read it, is worth the two minutes.
Reaching 600 micrograms
The food table below is calculated against the 600 microgram pregnancy figure rather than the adult one, so the percentages are honest for this stage. Lentils and chickpeas are the outstanding everyday sources, followed by leafy greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, beetroot, oranges and wholegrain.
Liver is very high in folate and is exactly the food pregnancy guidance says to avoid, because of its preformed vitamin A content. That conflict is worth stating plainly: do not use liver as a folate strategy in pregnancy.
Where this page stops
Antenatal care is the place where supplements, blood results and any previous pregnancy history come together. Nothing here is a substitute for it, and anyone with a previous pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect, epilepsy medication, diabetes or a malabsorption condition needs a personal recommendation rather than a population one.
How this compares with every other group
| Group | Reference value | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infants 7-11 months | 80 µg DFE | AI | |
| Children 1-3 years | 120 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Children 4-6 years | 140 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Children 7-10 years | 200 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Children 11-14 years | 270 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Boys 15-17 years | 330 µg DFE | PRI | the adult value is reached at 15 |
| Girls 15-17 years | 330 µg DFE | PRI | the adult value is reached at 15 |
| Men 19-50 | 330 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Women 19-50 | 330 µg DFE | PRI | plus a 400 microgram folic acid supplement if pregnancy is possible |
| Men 51 and over | 330 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Women 51 and over | 330 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Adults 65 and over | 330 µg DFE | PRI | |
| Pregnancy | 600 µg DFE | PRI | nearly double the adult value |
| Breastfeeding | 500 µg DFE | PRI |
Ordinary food against the 600 µg DFE figure for pregnancy
Top of this list: Lentils, 326 µg food folate in a 180 g serving (a portion, cooked) — 54% of the 600 µg DFE figure for pregnancy. It would take about 2 of those to cover a full day from that one food, which is why a real diet spreads it across several rows.
| Food | Ordinary portion | Per portion | Share of the day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lentils | a portion, cooked, 180 g | 326 µg food folate | 54% |
| Chickpeas | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 258 µg food folate | 43% |
| Black beans | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 224 µg food folate | 37% |
| Spinach | a large handful, 80 g | 155 µg food folate | 26% |
| Veal liver | a small portion, 100 g | 125 µg food folate | 21% |
| Beet | a portion, 100 g | 109 µg food folate | 18% |
| Soybeans | a portion, cooked, 150 g | 81 µg food folate | 14% |
| Avocado | half an avocado, 100 g | 81 µg food folate | 14% |
| Peanuts | a small handful, 30 g | 72 µg food folate | 12% |
| Sunflower seeds | 2 tbsp, 30 g | 68.1 µg food folate | 11% |
| Green peas | a portion, 100 g | 65 µg food folate | 11% |
| Broccoli | a portion, 100 g | 63 µg food folate | 11% |
Unit: The reference value is in dietary folate equivalents (DFE); the composition data is natural food folate, which converts to DFE one for one. Fortified products, where folic acid is absorbed about twice as efficiently, would need converting - none are ranked here.
Portion sizes are ordinary household servings chosen for this table, not official reference portions, and the shortlist is an editorial one: everyday foods eaten in this region rather than the highest per-100 g entries in the database. A raw per-100 g ranking would be topped by dried herbs, drink powders and fortified breakfast cereals, which answers a different question. The composition data is American, so where US fortification practice differs from European practice the row carries a dagger and the reason. For the full per-100 g ranking of a nutrient, the food-data section of this site publishes one.
The whole nutrient, not just this group
The Folate (B9) reference intake page carries the full age and sex table, the upper level, and what the value type means.
Related pages
Iron in pregnancy
The same life stage, a different nutrient.
Folate and folic acid for women who could become pregnant
The same nutrient, a different life stage.
Vitamin D in pregnancy
The same life stage, a different nutrient.
Iodine in pregnancy
The same life stage, a different nutrient.
Sources: EFSA Dietary Reference Values · Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy (food composition) · EFSA scientific opinion on dietary reference values for folate (2014) · World Health Organization guidance on periconceptional folic acid supplementation · checked 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
How much folate do you need in pregnancy?
EFSA population reference intake for pregnancy is 600 micrograms of dietary folate equivalents a day, against 330 for other adults, and 500 while breastfeeding.
Is the 400 microgram folic acid supplement the same as the 600 microgram requirement?
No. The supplement is a targeted measure against neural tube defects in the first weeks; the 600 microgram figure is the general nutritional requirement across the pregnancy.
Can I eat liver in pregnancy for folate?
No. Liver is high in folate but also extremely high in preformed vitamin A, which is teratogenic, and pregnancy guidance across Europe advises avoiding it.
Turn a reference value into your own week
TempoLife adds up what you actually ate, so you can see how a real week sits against the figure on this page.