If you are pregnant, or trying to conceive, you know that taking folic acid is essential for the healthy development of your baby. But according to the World Health Organization, vitamin B12 is just as important in preventing neural tube and other neurological defects in infants and unfortunately as many as 1 in 20 adults is deficient in this essential vitamin. Vitamin B12 is important because "it helps keep the body's nerve and blood cells healthy and helps make DNA, the genetic material in all cells," explains Peter Shaw, M.D., chief medical officer of pharmaceutical company Emisphere, which manufactures B12 supplements. "A deficiency is associated with increased risk for several adverse pregnancy outcomes for both mother and fetus. These risks include neural tube defects, intrauterine growth retardation, preeclampsia and early miscarriage," he says. Even more frighteningly, the neurological and developmental delays in babies that can be caused by a def