BMJ 1995;311:256 (22 July)

Letters

Most pregnant women do not take folic acid

EDITOR,--Preliminary results from a postal survey carried out by general practitioners along the Eden Valley in Cumbria support the assertions made by Nicolas J Wald and Carol Bower.1 Three hundred and twenty one women who had delivered in the past year were asked anonymously whether they had taken folic acid during or before that pregnancy. Altogether 254 (79%) women replied, of whom 68 had taken folic acid before conception and 111 had started taking it only after finding that they were pregnant. The most common reported source of information about folic acid was the patient's general practitioner (131) followed by the media (67).

We are looking at ways of increasing awareness by means of leaflets given out with contraceptive advice, posters, and local media. We hope to show an increase in women taking folic acid before conception as many now probably start taking it after closure of the neural tube. . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Folic acid and the prevention of neural tube defects
Nicholas J Wald and Carol Bower
BMJ 1995 310: 1019-1020. [Extract] [Full Text]

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