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By Emma Patten-Hitt, PhD
ATLANTA, Mar 16 (Reuters Health) - About 70% of women in the US do not understand the importance of eating enough folic acid before pregnancy so as to reduce the risk of birth defects in their newborns, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Those women least likely to understand why folic acid is important were those with less education, who were unmarried or were current smokers. Women who were younger, obese, had less education, and consumed few fruits and vegetables were the least likely to take folic acid in supplement form.
Folic acid, a B vitamin found in foods such as grains and leafy greens, is thought to prevent birth defects in babies if consumed before and during early pregnancy. In 1992, the US Public Health Service recommended that women capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. And in 1996, the US Food and Drug Administration mandated that all enriched cereal grain products be fortified with folic acid.
The survey of 739 Michigan women of reproductive age (18 to 44 years) found that only 42% of the women took a multivitamin or folic acid supplement daily and just 30% knew why folic acid was important. The findings are reported in the March 16th issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
"Because (birth) defects often occur before a woman knows she is pregnant, all women of childbearing age should be encouraged to maintain a healthy diet that includes increasing their consumption of fruits and vegetables (and) supplementing with fortified foods and vitamins," Dr. Cassius Lockett, of the Michigan State Health Department, told Reuters Health.
"Because approximately 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, all women of childbearing age should be encouraged to consume 400 micrograms of folic acid from fortified foods and/or supplements and to consume a balanced, healthy diet of folate-rich foods," CDC researchers write.
SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2001;50:185-189.
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