Spina Bifida & Folic Acid: What You Should Know Before You Conceive
October 15, 2017
October is National Spina Bifida Awareness Month. In addition to recognizing and supporting those who have spina bifida, October is an important time to raise awareness and a general understanding of this condition, which affects more than 166,000 Americans. Because of the link between spina bifida and adequate folic acid levels during pregnancy, it’s important for women of child-bearing age to evaluate their diets and seek nutritional support.
What Is Spina Bifida?
Spina bifida is a birth defect of the spine that occurs when a baby’s spine fails to close during the first month of pregnancy. An opening can occur anywhere along the spine. Because each case is so different, how spina bifida affects cognition, mobility and body function is varied.
Treatment & Prevention
The treatment for spina bifida depends on the location and severity of the opening in the spine. Some forms do not require any treatment, while others require surgery within days of birth. Scientists have come a long way in their techniques to close the openings and give people the best lives possible. There is no cure for spina bifida.
However, there are measures that women can take to reduce the likelihood of giving birth to a child with spina bifida. Although the exact causes of spina bifida are not known, maintaining healthy levels of folate has been identified as a key factor in prevention.
Importance of Folic Acid Before Conception
Mothers who take folic acid before and during the first three months of pregnancy can reduce the risk of spina bifida in their children by up to 70 percent.1 It is recommended that women of child-bearing ago take folic acid supplements.2,3 This can play a major role in the prevention of a potentially debilitating and deadly birth defects.
Prenatal Vitamins with Folic Acid
The Prenate® Vitamin Family is a line of prenatal vitamins that is formulated specifically to meet the needs of women during pregnancy. Every Prenate® product meets or exceeds recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for daily consumption of 0.4 mg of folic acid.4 Each Prenate® vitamin contains 1 mg folate as a blend of bioavailable L-methylfolate and traditional folic acid.
Prenate® vitamins incorporate pharmaceutical grade ingredients that provide patients with the quality and purity that are important for prenatal nutritional support. Talk to your doctor to see if Prenate® is right for you.