In Arizona, 44% of the babies born are Hispanic.  Hispanic women are at 1.5 to 3 times higher risk than non-Hispanic white women to have a neural tube defect affected pregnancy. In fact, Latinas have the highest risk among all women. The traditional Hispanic diet includes less folic acid enriched products such as flour tortillas and breakfast cereals and more corn products such as corn tortillas which are not enriched with folic acid in the United States.  

Neural Tube Defects are birth defects of the spine in which the upper or lower portion of the spine fails to close. If the lower portion of the spine does not close spina bifida occurs and the infant’s legs are paralyzed. Up to 70% of these defects could be prevented through taking the appropriate amount of the B vitamin folic acid, also known as folate, prior to pregnancy.

“It’s important that we educate Latina women about the importance of folic acid at an early age due to their increased risk of having a baby born with a neural tube defect,” said Diane Zipley, State Director of Public Affairs and Programs, March of Dimes – AZ Chapter. 

Actress, model and chef Cristina Nevarez studied Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Phoenix and currently teaches cooking classes to the junior high school students.  Experiencing eating disorders in her own life has inspired Nevarez to find the most nutritious foods and help educate teens on proper nutrition.    

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.