The Importance Of Folic Acid

Congenital anomalies result from specific gene alterations that occur before, or after, conception. Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) are the second largest category of congenital anomalies in the world today. Studies show that NTDs can be reduced by as much as 72% by administering vitamin B9 (folic acid) one month prior to and during the first trimester of pregnancy.

The neural tube is the embryonic structure that becomes the brain and spinal cord. A child born with an NTD has a congenital anomaly affecting the neural tube. Spina bifida and anencephaly, the two most common types of NTDs, account for 90% of all cases and encephalocele accounts for the remaining 10%.

Spina bifida, also known as "open spine", is oftentimes a serious condition involving risk of impaired mental development, muscle paralysis, loss of feeling, infection, and loss of bladder control. Anencephaly results in babies born with underdeveloped brains and incomplete skulls, and most of these children die at birth. Encephalocele results from a hole in the skull through which brain tissue protrudes. Babies born with this defect usually live, but suffer from severe mental disability.

Cleft lip and palate affect one in every 1,000 births - one of the most common birth defects worldwide. When children are born with a cleft they, and their family, suffer in many ways including poor oral hydration, caloric malnutrition, the inability to attend school, and community exclusion.

Learn more about folic acid:

The March of Dimes
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/173_769.asp

The Micronutrient Initiative
http://www.micronutrient.org/

The Flour Fortification Initiative
http://www.sph.emory.edu/wheatflour/index.php

The Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/folicacid/index.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/immpact/micronutrient_facts.htm#Folic%20Acid