Original Article

Performance of Pregnant Women on Folic Acid Intake

Abstract

The cause of neural tube defects (NTDs) is multifactorial and in this case folic acid has an important role. Since the neural tube is closed during 21-28 days of pregnancy, most of women are not informed about their pregnancy at this time, and as a result the golden time of folic acid consumption is missed. The aim of this study was evaluating the performance of pregnant women attending to Tehran Women's Hospital in regard to folic acid intake during pre-conceptional period between 2011 and 2012. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 370 pregnant women attending the prenatal clinic of a hospital affiliate to Tehran University of Medical Sciences between 2011 and 2012. Data were collected through interview using a questionnaire. Although 70% of the pregnancies were planned, but 70.5% of pregnant women had not taken folic acid before conception or in necessary time. There was found a significant relationship between level of education, history of abnormalities in children and the number of abortions and taking folic acid before pregnancy (P=0.005, P=0.000 and P=0.000, respectively).

Sadler TW. Langman’s medical embryology.10th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &Wilkins 2006:293-4.

Kliegman, Behrman, Jenson, Stanton. Nelson textbook of pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier 2007:697. Saunders .

Brian Pace, MA. Spina Bifida. JAMA 2001; 285(23):3050.

Jegatheesan P, Keller RL, Hawgood S. Early variable-flow nasal continuous positive airway pressure in infants< or =1000 grams at birth. J Perinatol 2006;26(3):189-96.

The Global Burden of Disease. 2004 update. 2004. http:// www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/ GBD report_2004update_full.pdf (13 September 2009,date last accessed

Wald N. Folic acid and the prevention of neural tube defects. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1993;678:112–29.

Hibbard BM. The role of folic acid in pregnancy with particular reference to anaemia, abruption and abortion. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Commonw 1964;71:529-42.

Chan A, Robertson EF, Haan EA, Keane RJ, Ranieri E, Carney A. Prevalence of neural tube defects in South Australia, 1966–91: effectiveness and impact of prenatal diagnosis. BMJ 1993;307(6936):703–6.

Morris JK, Wald NJ. Prevalence of neural tube defect pregnancies in England and Wales from 1964 to 2004.J Med Screen 2007;14(2):55–9.

The Safdari. Impact on education and consumer awareness of the role of folic acid in pregnant women. Journal of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, 1387; No. 3

Cunningham FG, et al. Williams’s Obstetrics. 22sted New York: McGraw - Hill,2005, 218

Laurance KM, James N, Miller M, Tennant GB, Campbell H. Double-blind randomised controlled trial of folate treatment before conception to prevent recurrence of neural tube defects. Br Med J 1981;282(6275):1509-11.

MRC vitamin study research group: Prevention of neural tube defects: Results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study. Lancet 1991;338(8760):131-7.

Werler MM, Shapiro S, Michell AA. Periconceptional folic acid exposure and risk of occurrence neural tube defects. JAMA 1993;269(10):1257-61.

Czeizel AE. Prevention of congenital abnormalities by periconceptional multivitaminsupplementation. BMJ 1993;306(6893):1645-8.

Rosano A, Smithells D, Cacciani L, Botting B, Castilla E, Cornel M, Erickson D, Goujard J, Irgens L, Merlob P, Robert E, Siffel C, Stoll C, Sumiyoshi Y. Time trends in neural tube defects prevalence in relation to preventive strategies:An international study. J Epidemiol Community Health 1999;53(10):630-5.

Rolschau J, Kristofferson K, Ulrich M, Grinsted P, Schaumburg E, Foged N. The influence of folic acid supplement on the outcome of pregnancies in the county of Funen in Denmark Part 1. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 1999;87(2):105-10.

Cunningham FG, Leveno K, Bloom SL, Hauth JC, Gilstrap LC, Wenstrom KD. Williams obstetrics.22nd ed. New

Wild J, Sutcliffe M, Schorah CJ, Levene MI. Prevention of neural-tube defects. Lancet 1997;350:30–1.

Custer M, Waller K, Vernon S, O’Rourke K. Unintended pregnancy rates among a US military population. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2008;22(2):195–200.

Botto LD, Lisi A, Robert-Gnansia E, Erickson JD, Vollset SE, Mastroiacovo P, Botting B, Cocchi G, de Vigan C, de Walle H, Feijoo M, Irgens LM, McDonnell B, Merlob P, Ritvanen A, Scarano G, Siffel C, Metneki J, Stoll C, Smithells R, Goujard J. International retrospective cohort study of neural tube defects in relation to folic acid recommendations: are the recommendations working? BMJ 2005;330(7491):571.

Flour Fortification Initiative. 2009. http://www.sph.emory.edu/wheatflour/countrydata.php (13 September 2009,date last accessed).

Knudsen VK, Orozova I, Rasmussen LB, Mikkelsen TB,Michaelsen KF, Olsen SF. Low compliance with recommendations on folic acid use in relation to pregnancy: is there a need forfortification? Public Health Nutr 2004;7(7):843-50.

Schader I, Corwin P. How many pregnant women in Christchurch are using folic acid supplements in early pregnancy? N Z Med J 1999;112(1101):463-5.

Sen S, Manzoor A, Deviasumathy M, Newton C.Maternal knowledge, attitude and practice regarding folic acid intake during the periconceptional period. Public Health Nutr 2001;4(4):909-12.

Wu DY, Brat G, Milla G, Kim J. Knowledge and use of folic acid for prevention of birth defects amongst Honduran women. Reprod Toxicol 2007;23(4):600-6.

Ahluwalia IB, Daniel KL. Are women with recent live births aware of the benefits of folic acid? MMWR Recomm Rep 2001;50(RR-6):3-14.

Bener A, Al- Maadid MG, Al-Bast DA, AlMarri S. Maternal knowledge, attitude and practice on folic acid intake among Arabian Qatari women. Reprod Toxicol 2006;21(1):21-5.

Unsan N. Assessment of Turkish women’s knowledge concerning folic acid and prevention of birth defects. Public Health Nutr 2004;7(7):851-5.

Dalveit Ak, Vollset SE, Lande B, Oien H. Changes in knowledge and attitudes of folate and use of dietary supplements among women of reproductive age in Norway 1998-2000. Scand J Public Health 2004;32(4):264-71.

Files
IssueVol 51, No 10 (2013) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
Keywords
Folic acid Neural tube defects Pregnancy
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Rezaei Z, Ahmadi FS, Niroomanesh S, Ejtemaee Mehr S, Davari Tanha F, Aminian A, Ghaseminejad A, Abbasi S, Yarandi F. Performance of Pregnant Women on Folic Acid Intake. Acta Med Iran. 1;51(10):697-700.