As Part of Birth Defects Awareness Month, January 5-11 is National Folic Acid Awareness Week: a week in which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (1) focuses on the importance of folic acid and urges all women to consume adequate amounts of folic acid every day.
What is Folic Acid?
Folic acid, which is also known as folate, is an essential nutrient that aids the body in making healthy new cells by helping to produce DNA and RNA. Folic acid is particularly important for women who are trying or who are pregnant. If a woman has consumed enough folic acid prior to getting pregnant it can help prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Spina bifida is a defect that occurs within the first week of pregnancy; it takes place when the spinal cord and the back bones do not form as they should. While most children born with spina bifida live full lives they often have lifelong disabilities and need many surgeries.
What Does the Research Say?
Fortunately research has shown that folic acid can help prevent the defects. A study by the Medical Research Council (2) looked at 1817 women who were given a folic acid supplement, a multivitamin supplement, a folic acid and multivitamin supplement or a placebo. It was found that the group that received the folic acid supplement had a 72% lower risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect. The results of the study were so overwhelming that the study was stopped early and all women were encouraged to take a folic acid supplement.
What are the Recommendations for Folic Acid?
Because 50% of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and neural birth defects occur by the 28th day of gestation, it is recommended by the Center for Disease Control that all women of child bearing age increase their intake of folic acid even if they are not planning on getting pregnant. It is recommended that a woman get 400 micrograms (mcg) everyday.
How to Consume Adequate Amounts of Folic Acid
One easy way to ensure adequate intake of folic acid, is by taking a multivitamin that contains 100% of the daily value of folic acid. Supplements that contain only folic acid are also available. Folic acid is also available in many of the foods we eat. Foods that are high in folic acid include fortified breakfast cereals and fortified breads (check the food label to see the percentage of the daily value), beans, lentils, spinach, asparagus and broccoli. As there are no adverse effects of consuming too much folic acid, women only need to be concerned about consuming plenty of folic acid.
Everyone wants the birth of a healthy baby. Consuming adequate amounts of folic acid prior to pregnancy is one way every women can do their part to help prevent neural tube defects.
References:
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Wald and Sneddon. Prevention of neural tube defects: results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study. Lancet 1991: 338(8760): 131-7
