NEW YORK, Sep 21 (Reuters Health) -- Despite public health campaigns, many women of childbearing age are unaware that folic acid supplements can prevent some types of birth defects, say Illinois researchers.
More than 65% of new mothers recently surveyed by Loyola University researchers were unaware of folic acid's role in preventing birth defects such as spina bifida, Dr. Robert J. Bielski told attendees recently at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine.
In the study, Bielski and colleagues at the Maywood, Illinois campus questioned 200 new mothers who gave birth at a university hospital to determine their use of prenatal vitamins and their knowledge of folic acid's link to the prevention of birth defects. They found that only 69 of the 200 mothers (34.5%) reported any knowledge of folic acid.
Seventy-five percent of those who were aware of folic acid's benefits also knew that folic acid supplementation is linked to the prevention of spina bifida. However, only 16% took vitamins within the first 3 to 4 weeks of pregnancy, Bielski said.
The researchers found that more than 90% of the study population used prenatal vitamins, although very few used the vitamins during the first month of pregnancy.
Bielski believes that daily multivitamin supplements are necessary for all women of childbearing age. At a minimum, "all women planning pregnancy should take multi-vitamins," he said. "Adequate folic acid intake is almost impossible to get through diet."
"The evidence of the protective effects of folic acid are overwhelming," Bielski told Reuters Health, "yet the average woman does not know anything about it."
