Folic acid in food ‘reduces spina bifida births

THE master of the country’s largest maternity hospital has called on the Government to fortify food with folic acid to reduce the number of babies born with spina bifida.

Speaking at a conference in Trinity College yesterday, Dr Sean Daly said Canada had achieved a 54% reduction in the number of babies born with spina bifida and anencephaly in a two-year period, following its decision to fortify food with folic acid in 1998.

He said the Government needed to introduce a similar programme here because of the high number of unplanned pregnancies. Research carried out in the Coombe from 2001/2002 found that of 15,000 deliveries, the rate of unplanned pregnancies was 36%. These women would not have been taking folic acid during the crucial period, one month prior to conceiving. “Over one-third of all births in the Coombe over the period were unplanned and obviously these women were not in a position to take the recommended dosage of folic acid. Added to that, our research showed that those women who had planned pregnancies did not take the requisite dosage,” said Dr Daly.