Folic Acid Prevents Birth Defects
Surprisingly, the number of women taking the recommended daily value folic acid has dropped – even as awareness of its benefits to expectng mothers and their babies is on the increase.
A March of Dimes study recently found that awareness of folic acid’s ability to help prevent certain birth defects increased from 78 percent in 2004 to 84 percent in 2005. However, the percentage of women taking folic acid every day during that same time decreased from 40 percent to 33 percent.
“While the cause of many birth defects is unknown, we know without a doubt that folic acid can reduce the risk of serious defects affecting a baby’s spine and brain,” says Glenda R. Miller, director of the Division of Community and Public Health at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. “It is vital that we convince women of childbearing age to take folic acid daily.”
The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities reports that birth defects affect about one in every 33 babies born in the United States each year. Accounting for more than 20 percent of all infant deaths, these defects are the leading cause in the United States. Those babies that don’t die still have a greater chance of illness and long term disability than babies without birth defects.
The causes of nearly 70 percent of birth defects are not known and cannot be avoided. However, neural tube defects – which affect the brain and spinal cord – often can be avoided with folic acid, a B vitamin included in most multivitamins.
When taken before pregnancy and in the early weeks of pregnancy, folic acid can prevent 50 to 70 percent of neural tube defects, the most common being spina bifida.
“We want women to know they can reduce the risk of birth defects and help give their babies the best chance for a healthy start in life,” Miller says.
Since neural tube defects develop during the first month of pregnancy – before most women know they are pregnant – and since 50 percent of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, it is vital that all women of childbearing age take folic acid daily.
The U.S. Public Health Service advises all women capable of becoming pregnant to consume 400 micrograms of folic acid each day. Because most women are not able to obtain enough folic acid from their diet alone and the body absorbs the synthetic form of folic acid more easily than the natural form, it is recommended that all women of childbearing age take a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. Women of childbearing age are also advised to eat fortified grains in addition to a variety of foods as part of a healthy diet.
“While this all-time high level of awareness about folic acid is good news, it is critical to take the next step and convince all women of childbearing age to get enough folic acid by taking a multivitamin containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to reduce the risk of birth defects,” Miller says.
In addition to taking multivitamins, women can eat a bowl of a breakfast cereal that has 100 percent of the daily value (DV) of folic acid per serving every day. A quick check of the nutritional information label on cereal boxes will show the wide variety of cereals that meet this standard.
In 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered all enriched cereal grain products to be fortified with folic acid. The fortification program was optional in March 1996, but became mandatory in January 1998.
Total, Product 19, Cheerios Plus, Special K Plus, Life and Smart Start are some examples. The label on the side of the box should say “100%” next to folic acid.
The 400 microgram recommendation does not apply to pregnant women, however. Once a woman becomes pregnant, she should increase her intake of synthetic folic acid to 600 micrograms per day.
Women who have had a baby with a neural tube defect should consult their doctors about the amount of folic acid they should take before their next pregnancy. However, studies have shown that taking a larger dose of folic acid daily reduces a woman’s risk of having another baby with a neural tube defect by about 70 percent.
In addition to helping prevent neural tube defects, emerging research shows that folic acid may also reduce the risk of other birth defects, such as cleft lip, cleft palate and heart defects.
