Lost Oaks Subdivision

Health Topics

Feb 04, 2001

Preventing Birth Defects
Information Provided
by
Ruth Payton
Centers for Disease Control and the March of Dimes recommend that all women of childbearing age take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms (.4 milligrams) of Folic Acid daily to help prevent certain birth defects in newborn babies. Although found in many foods including green leafy vegetables, some fruits, and orange juice, the average American diet has only about 200 micrograms of folic acid or about half the recommended amount. In 1998, Federal Drug Administration (FDA) mandated that flour products be fortified with folic acid. Breakfast cereals were not included in that group of foods to be fortified, but many contain up to 100% of the recommended daily amount of folic acid. Since the folic acid is sprayed on the cereal after it is processed, it washes off the cereal into the milk, so in order to get the folic acid one must drink the milk from the cereal.
Several scientific studies have documented clearly that adequate folic acid intake by childbearing aged women (15-44) can prevent up to 70% of the so-called neural tube defects (NTDs) in babies. Neural tube defects include spina bifida (incomplete closure of the spine) and anencephaly (failure of the brain to develop appropriately). While many children in the U.S. survive with spina bifida, some with varying degrees of paralysis, those with anencephaly die shortly before or after birth.
All women of childbearing age should take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms (.4 milligrams) folic acid every day. 50-60% of pregnancies among this group are not planned. The neural tube closes about day 25-28 after fertilization, approximately 40-45 days after the last menstrual period, well before many women even realize they are pregnant. Thus, it is
imperative that all women of childbearing age take folic acid to help prevent these devastating birth defects.
For more information contact the March of Dimes Information Center at
1-888-MODIMES, or on the internet at
www.modimes.org
(ed: We hope to keep health topics a recurring part of these newsletters.)