F IS FOR FOLIC

By Sora Song

If you know what folic acid is, you probably have the March of Dimes to thank for it. In 1998 the organization teamed up with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to deliver a public-health message: women of childbearing age should take 400 micrograms of the vitamin daily. It is a simple act of preventive medicine that cuts the risk of neural-tube defects like spina bifida more than 50% in developing fetuses. Apparently the message stuck. A March of Dimes poll designed to gauge awareness of the supplement's benefits found that while only half of women ages 18 to 45 knew what folic acid was in 1995, that figure has now jumped to 77%. By 2004, the number of women taking their daily dose had risen to 40%, an all-time high. So, did the folic-acid advice reduce birth defects as intended? Indeed it did. According to CDC statistics, the incidence of two major types of neural-tube defects have dropped about 25% since 1995. --By Sora Son