Survey shows doctors in Ireland not advising pregnant woman to take folic acid

From Ireland On-Line:

Irish GPs are not advising women of child-bearing age to take folic acid despite its importance in preventing neural tube defects such as Spina Bifida in children, according to a recent survey.

The study by *iReach on behalf of Clonmel Healthcare was conducted among more than 400 women also found that GPs were seen as the most important sources of information when pregnant.

Some 66% of respondents had never had folic acid recommended to them by their GP.

Of the 34% of respondents who had been recommended to take folic acid by their GP, 70% were already pregnant at the time.

Almost one in three pregnancies among the women surveyed had been unplanned pregnancies.

Folic acid is needed for the development of a baby's spine and brain in the early weeks of pregnancy. Women with low blood levels of folic acid have a higher risk of having a baby with Spina Bifida and other neural tube defects like hydrocephalus.

Daily folic acid supplements of 0.4mg (400 micrograms), when taken prior to conception and throughout the first trimester, has been proven to reduce the risk of a neural tube defects (NTD) such as Spina Bifida by up to 70%.

"It is not enough to take folic acid when you know you are pregnant," said Dublin GP, Dr Joe Curry.

"Department of Health guidelines recommend that women take folic acid for three months prior to getting pregnant and during the first trimester.

"It is worrying that most of the women surveyed either had not been recommended by their doctor to take folic acid or had only been recommended to take it when they were already pregnant."