Prevent Birth Defects
There
are about 150,000 babies born each year in the United States with
birth defects. About 2500
of these babies are born with a certain type of defect of the brain
and spine called neural tube defects. (NTDs) The neural tube is the
embryonic structure that develops into the brain and spinal cord.
This structure starts out as a flat disc of cells that normally
fold into a tube by the 29th day after conception.
An NTD develops if there is not a closure of this tube. The
most common NTDs are spina bifida and anencephaly. Babies with
anencephaly generally die shortly after birth and persons with spina
bifida require surgery to correct the defect of the open spine.
They often have varying degrees of paralysis of their legs,
bowel and bladder. As a
result, they may require life-long medical care including repeated
hospitalizations for other associated medical problems.
Folic acid, a B-vitamin, can help prevent birth defects of the
brain and spinal cord as well as other birth defects, including cleft
lip and pallet, if taken before pregnancy and in the early weeks of
pregnancy since NTDs develop within the first month of pregnancy.
Unfortunately, 50% of pregnancies in this country are unplanned
and only 23% of women who became pregnant in 1988 were taking folic
acid supplements beforehand. By the time most women discover they are
pregnant, this critical point in development has already passed.
The Public Health Service and the Institute of Medicine have
recommended capable of becoming pregnant take a daily folic acid
supplement throughout their child-bearing years to reduce the risk of
this kind of birth defects.
How much folic acid should women take?
The March of Dimes
recommends all women who can become pregnant, consume a multi-vitamin
containing 400 mcg of folic
acid daily. In addition to eating a healthy diet, including foods rich in
folic acid. It is not
enough to simply eat a well balanced diet as most women only get about
200 mcg of folic acid from their diets.
This additional intake of B vitamin and folic acid could
prevent 50 to 70% of NTDs. The
natural forms of folic acid found in foods, folate, are present in
citrus fruits and juices, leafy green vegetables, beans, peanuts,
broccoli, asparagus, peas and lentils, and whole grain products.
Many breakfast cereals are now fortified with a synthetic, more
easily absorbable form of folic acid.
Neural II defects are highly preventable before birth, but
unfortunately about two thirds of the population go unprotected
against the possibility of this defect.
A recent survey by the Center for Disease Control revealed that
fewer than one in five woman hear about the importance of folic acid
consumption from their physicians, and only one in three take folic
acid regularly. The March
of Dimes has implemented a folic acid campaign, the first phase of
which will be sustained through the year 2000.
This will involve community programs, professional education
and mass media components. This
year the focus will be directed primarily to women considering
pregnancy so that they can make a behavior change for the health of
their future baby.
If you are of child bearing age, and even if you do not plan to become
pregnant, consider taking a multivitamin containing folic acid daily
to prevent these type of birth defects.
Awareness of this condition and the need for sufficient folic
acid prior to pregnancy is the key to preventing these defects, please
share this information with anyone that you know of childbearing age.
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