In recognition of Spina Bifida and Folic Acid Awareness Month, the March of Dimes Florida Chapter is spreading the word on the importance of folic acid for all women of childbearing age. Half of all pregnancies are unplanned and folic acid has been identified as a critical component in preventing certain serious, sometimes fatal, neural tube birth defects.
To lower the risk of a neural tube defect from occurring, a woman must have an adequate store of folic acid in her body before conception and during the first few weeks of pregnancy, which is when the neural tube develops. Only about a third of all women routinely take folic acid and it is estimated that among women of childbearing age, folic acid levels are far below the recommended levels for neural tube defect prevention. The United States Public Health Service recommends that all women who could become pregnant take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day, and by doing so, prevent up to 70 percent of neural tube defects.
For the past three years, the March of Dimes Florida Chapter has been working to educate women about the benefits of taking folic acid through the VitaGrant Program. The VitaGrant Program provides education to non-pregnant women of childbearing age on the importance of maintaining good health prior to conception. Women also receive free multivitamins containing 100% of the daily recommended value of folic acid.
The program was made possible through a two million dollar grant awarded to the March of Dimes by the Florida Attorney General’s office. Over half a million bottles of vitamins have been distributed statewide over the three year grant period, which ends this December. Based on preliminary results from the evaluation of the program, women who receive the free multivitamins and educational materials are much more likely to take folic acid than those women who do not receive the education and free resources.
The final results of the VitaGrant evaluation will be available later this year and will include details on the impact of the project in changing folic acid knowledge and behavior among the women served through the grant.
Throughout Florida, over 250 non-profit organizations and agencies joined the March of Dimes in the effort to distribute the multivitamins and folic acid materials, including county health departments, Healthy Start providers, and community health centers. “Having multivitamins available to women through this initiative has helped our community become more aware of the importance of folic acid and its role in preventing neural tube defects. The preliminary results of the program’s evaluation are promising and demonstrate the importance of providing free multivitamins with folic acid to women who may not otherwise be able to purchase them,” says Kimberlea Hauser, Chair, March of Dimes Program Services Committee and Associate in Pediatrics with the University of South Florida Birth Defects Surveillance Program.
Florida has other prevention efforts in place to help educate the public about the importance of daily folic acid consumption. The Florida Folic Acid Coalition, which is led by the March of Dimes Florida Chapter, Florida Department of Health, University of Florida, and the University of South Florida, brings together public and private organizations within Florida who are interested in raising awareness about the health benefits of folic acid.
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 Web site at http://www.nacersano.org/.
For more information about the March of Dimes VitaGrant Program or the Florida Folic Acid Coalition, contact Elizabeth Jensen at 850-245-4465, call the Florida Department of Health’s Family Health Line, 1-800-451-2229 or visit the Florida Folic Acid Coalition’s web site at http://www.folicacidnow.net/
|
