1999 National Ambassador: Kelsey Adams

Kelsey Adams is a charming girl who loves soccer, math and softball. What makes Kelsey stand out from the other kids in her hometown of Clinton, Miss., is that she wanted to tell all of America how they can have healthy babies. She did just that when she traveled across the country with her mother as the March of Dimes 1999 National Ambassador.

Kelsey is alive and healthy today in part because her mother took the B vitamin folic acid before she was born. Her mom, Jody, a nurse practitioner, was working full-time in a labor and delivery unit when she and her husband, Jerry, learned they were pregnant with their first child in 1989. Her pregnancy was quite smooth; she took prenatal vitamins, got appropriate prenatal care and she didn't drink or smoke.

During her 24th week of pregnancy, Jody noticed that their baby wasn't kicking. She used a few techniques to try to locate movement, but was unsuccessful. Later she put herself on a fetal monitor. Jody could not find the baby's heartbeat. Neither could her colleague, nor one of the obstetricians. They called Jody's physician, who ordered an ultrasound. The ultrasound confirmed Jody's fears; their baby had died. They were devastated.

The following morning, her doctor induced labor. Upon delivery, doctors found that Jody and Jerry's son had a cervical meningocele, a type of neural tube defect (NTD). NTDs are serious birth defects of the brain and spine that include spina bifida and anencephaly.

Soon after, Jody's aunt, a doctor of pharmacology, told her about new research on folic acid: That if women consume 400 micrograms of the B vitamin folic acid daily, three months before conception and during early pregnancy, they may reduce their risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect. A neonatologist confirmed this and Jody left the hospital taking folic acid supplements daily.

Several months later, Jody was pregnant again. She continued taking her folic acid, and at 15 weeks, Jody's amniocentesis results came back normal.

On April 22, 1990, Kelsey was born healthy.