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March of Dimes

This January, as part of National Birth Defects Prevention Month, the Grain Foods Foundation has joined with the March of Dimes to remind all women of childbearing age of the important role folic acid plays in preventing birth defects.

Daily consumption of the B vitamin folic acid beginning before pregnancy is crucial as birth defects of the brain and spine known as neural tube defects (NTDs), such as spina bifida, can occur in the early weeks following conception, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.

"Folic acid is the most important vitamin women can take to help prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spine, and it's most important that they start taking it before they get pregnant and continue to take it after," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes.

The March of Dimes urges all women of childbearing age to consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily as part of a healthful diet, beginning before pregnancy and continuing into the early months of pregnancy. Bread, crackers, bagels, pasta, pretzels and tortillas made from fortified, enriched white flour are popular and important sources of folic acid. In fact, enriched grain products have been fortified with twice the amount of folic acid found in whole grain products.

Since the FDA issued the mandate in 1998, neural tube defects (NTDs), including spina bifida, have declined by 26 percent.