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    2. Few Women take Folic Acid in Time - Top

    http://www.modimes.org/About2/PressReleases/Archive/1998/981208b.htm

    Few Women Taking Folic Acid in Time to Prevent Serious Birth Defects, March of Dimes Survey Finds
    WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., DEC. 8, 1998 – Most women who take multivitamins containing the B vitamin folic acid are taking them too late to prevent certain serious birth defects of the brain and spine in their babies, according to a survey released today by the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.

    Only 29 percent of American women between the ages of 18 and 45 who are not currently pregnant take a daily multivitamin containing folic acid. Among 18-to-24-year-olds not currently pregnant, only 19 percent take a multivitamin. However, this age group accounts for 32 percent of all births in the United States.

    "Most women begin taking folic acid too late to reduce their risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida or anencephaly," said Richard B. Johnston, Jr., M.D., medical director of the March of Dimes. "In order to be effective in preventing birth defects, folic acid must be consumed before conception and during the first four weeks of pregnancy. Since nearly half of all pregnancies in this country are unplanned, all women capable of having a baby should be consuming folic acid every day."

    Although the survey shows a steady increase in the number of women who say they have heard of folic acid over the past three years – from 52 percent of women in 1995 to 68 percent today -- there has been no corresponding increase in the number of women taking multivitamins every day. Dr. Johnston says this is because few women truly understand the need to consume folic acid before conception in order to prevent birth defects. Only 7 percent of all women surveyed knew without prompting that folic acid should be taken before pregnancy, and only 13 percent knew folic acid helps prevent birth defects. These figures have improved very little from previous surveys, Dr. Johnston said.

    Today’s survey follows up two previous March of Dimes polls of women's knowledge and behavior on issues related to healthy pregnancy, including folic acid. It was conducted for the March of Dimes by The Gallup Organization under a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Also today, the March of Dimes unveiled the first phase of a new, multi-year national folic acid health education campaign that strongly urges all women of childbearing age to consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily by eating a balanced diet containing foods rich in folic acid, such as leafy green vegetables, orange juice and beans, and taking a daily multivitamin. The Foundation has pledged to spend up to $10 million over the next three years on folic acid educational efforts aimed at reducing the incidence of neural tube defects by 30 percent by the year 2001.

    Importance of the News Media

    Dr. Johnston highlighted the importance of the news media in informing women about folic acid. The survey found that 31 percent of women who have heard of folic acid say they learned about it from a magazine or newspaper article, and 23 percent learned of it from radio or television. Nineteen percent of women say they received this information from their health care providers.

    Neural tube defects (NTDs) are among the most serious and common birth defects in the United States. Each year, an estimated 2,500 babies are born with these defects, and many additional affected pregnancies result in miscarriage or stillbirth. The most common NTD is spina bifida, a leading cause of childhood paralysis. Another NTD is anencephaly, a fatal condition in which a baby is born with a severely underdeveloped brain and skull.

    The March of Dimes survey results are based on telephone interviews with a national sample of 2,115 women ages 18 to 45 conducted between July 2 and August 21, 1998. For results based on samples of this size, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or minus three percentage points.

    Copies of the March of Dimes survey, "Preparing for Pregnancy III," item #31-1154-98, can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-367-6630.

    The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. The March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy. In 1998, the March of Dimes celebrates its 60th anniversary, marking six decades of lifesaving breakthroughs for babies.

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    ©1999 March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. All rights reserved

    - Updated: July 3, 2001

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