[Versión en Español]

Folic Acid for Healthy Babies
A Primer

• Each year in the United States almost 4000 babies are paralyzed or die from serious birth defects of the spine (spina bifida) or brain (anencephaly). Between 50% to 75% of these cases could be prevented if the mother consumed sufficient folic acid before and during the early weeks of pregnancy.

• Spina bifida is a condition that often has disabling consequences. With severe spina bifida, a person’s legs and feet are paralyzed, and there are problems with bowel and bladder control. Learning disabilities are common, and mental retardation sometimes occurs. Babies with anencephaly all die before birth or shortly thereafter.

• All women of childbearing age should consume 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid daily because half of the pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and because these birth defects of the spine and brain occur before most women know they are pregnant. Most common multivitamins contain 400 mcg of folic acid. A few breakfast cereals contain 400 mcg per serving and many others contain 100 mcg per serving. Foods made from "enriched" flour or grain products now contain additional folic acid; examples are bread, pasta, and rice.

• The CDC, the March of Dimes, and the National Council on Folic Acid have initiated the National Folic Acid Campaign to educate women of reproductive age about the need to consume 400 mcg of the vitamin folic acid daily to prevent the serious birth defects spina bifida and anencephaly.

Join the campaign to prevent birth defects.
The time to prevent birth defects is before pregnancy.

For more information on folic acid, call1-888-232-5929 , or visit the Folic Acid website.

March 1999
NCEH Pub No. 99-0093
Order# 099-6067

[ Versión en Español]