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Women reminded of folic acid's benefits in preventing birth defects.
2004 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson reminded all women of child-bearing age of the importance of folic acid and its role in preventing neural tube birth defects (NTDs), which are defects of the brain and spinal cord.
"It is important that women take at least 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day before becoming pregnant and in the early weeks of pregnancy," said Dr. Johnson.
"The risk of having a pregnancy affected by neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida, the leading cause of childhood paralysis, can be reduced by as much as 70%."
Governor Edward G. Rendell has proclaimed January as Birth Defects Prevention Month in Pennsylvania as a way to draw attention to the steps women can take to have healthier babies.
Folic acid is a B vitamin that is necessary for proper cell growth and development of the embryo. Although it is not exactly known how folic acid works to prevent NTDs, its role in tissue formation is essential. Folic acid is required for the production of DNA, which is necessary for the rapid cell growth needed to make fetal tissues and organs early in pregnancy.
The most common NTDs are anencephaly, where the skull and brain do not form properly. Infants cannot survive with this birth defect. Also, spina bifida, where the spinal cord, bony spinal column and soft tissue layer over the spine do not form properly; and encephalocele, where the skull does not form properly, allowing part of the brain to be contained within a sac outside the skull.
NTDs occur about 3 to 4 ...
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Source: HighBeam Research, Women reminded of folic acid's benefits in preventing birth defects.