Folic Acid Awareness Week is a great time to recommit to recommending that patients take a multivitamin with 400 mcg of the B-vitamin folic acid every day. As you know, starting folic acid prior to pregnancy is an important way to reduce the risk of neural tube defects by up to 70%. Taking folic acid is a healthy practice for all women of reproductive age since neural tube defects happen in the first weeks of fetal development, and 50% of pregnancies in the US are unplanned.
ARHP has several evidence-based resources on folic acid available though the Hot Topics in Preconception Care: Folate and Beyond program, including:
- Counseling Patients on Preconception Care: Folate and Beyond provider fact sheet
- Curriculum slide set with talking points, case studies, and learning activities archived in CORE
- Preconception Care: Folate and Beyond patient fact sheet in English and Spanish
- Latino Public Radio segment with former ARHP board chair, Pablo Rodriguez, MD, on the importance of preconception care (only available in Spanish)
For more information about folic acid and National Folic Acid Awareness Week, visit www.folicacidinfo.org.Â
Tell a friend!
