Folic Acid is critical for Women of Child-bearing Age!

Last night, as we were getting ready for bed my five-year-old daughter asks, "Why do I have to sit on the potty every night?" I explained that everyone has to go potty every day to get rid of some of the food we eat and for her it works best to do it at night.

Because she was born with spina bifida, the nerves on her lower spinal cord never formed properly in my womb, so she has almost no control over her bladder and bowel function. This year we've developed a good "potty" routine that involves giving her an Enemeez, a mini enema, every night followed by 15-20 minutes of sitting on the potty.

After thinking about my response for a minute, Adria asked me this question. "Mommy, does anyone else in my world use Enemeez?"

I thought it was so precious how she worded that. She seems to be gradually understanding that certain things are different for her than others, but it doesn't seem to bother her much. In her world, no one that I know of uses Enemeez. However, we have met over a dozen people with spina bifida in her lifetime and most of them require crutches or a wheelchair for mobility, while she only needs leg braces.

Overall she is very healthy, but spina bifida does have a big impact on her life. In fact, it reportedly impacts nearly 166,000 Americans and about 70,000 of those have the severe type like my daughter called myelomeningocele.

This image shows what a baby with Spina Bifida (Myelomeningocele) looks like at birth.
Like most of these babies, my daughter had surgery to close this opening within 24 hours of birth.

Spina Bifida is one of the most common permanently disabling birth defects. January is actually National Birth Defects Prevention Month, and I'm a little late but January 5-11th was Folic Acid Awareness Week. I'd like to take this opportunity to share a very important message with all of you, but specifically those women of child-bearing age.

Though I love my daughter dearly and wouldn't change a thing about her, I would encourage any woman to do the best she can to prevent this from happening to her child.

Why does Spina Bifida happen?

While there are no specific known causes for spina bifida, it has been found to be most common among Hispanics and people of European decent and affects more female babies than males. According to www.spinabifia.net, obese or diabetic mothers are at a higher risk (I am neither) and some anti-seizure medications may be a factor in spina bifida occurance. Studies also suggest that mom's prolonged exposure to high temperatures, like in a hot tub, early in pregnancy contribute to causing the birth defect.

An interesting fact that I recently learned is that Scotland has a higher rate of Neural Tube Defects like spina bifida than other European countries. This is somewhat significant as my mother's family is of Scottish origin, though there is no known history of spina bifida in our families.

How to Prevent Spina Bifida

Here's the important part! While there is no specific cause, there is a proven method of PREVENTION. That is through the intake of Folic Acid prior to pregnancy.

The American Pregnancy Association recommends the following:
Spina bifida is best prevented by taking 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day. Studies have shown that if all women who could become pregnant were to take a multivitamin with the B-vitamin folic acid, the risk of neural tube defects could be reduced by up to 70%.
Folic acid is a water soluble B-vitamin that helps build healthy cells, but it does not stay in the body long. It is important that women take folic acid every day to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects. Since half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, women of childbearing age – even if they are not currently planning to get pregnant – should take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day to reduce their risk of having a child with Spina Bifida

Ironically, I remember reading in a magazine when I was a young woman about the importance of taking a multi-vitamin with Folic Acid, so I did. However, pre-natal vitamins usually have even more Folic Acid, around 800 mcg, and it's recommended that you take at least that amount daily when trying to get pregnant. I was not on a pre-natal vitamin when I got pregnant with Adria.

It's hugely important that you are taking this BEFORE YOU GET PREGNANT, because spina bifida and other Neural Tube Defects occur just 28 days after conception. That's right, by the time you know you're pregnant the spinal cord has already formed properly...or not.

Now because I have a child with spina bifida, I am 20 times more likely to have it occur again. Yikes! To significantly reduce this risk, I took 4 mg (or 4,000 mcg) of folic acid every day for several months prior to trying for #2.  I did have an early miscarriage first, but I became pregnant again and now have a super healthy two-year-old girl. Even when I'm not "trying" to get pregnant, I still take at least 1 or 2 mg of folic acid a day, just in case...

Special Alert to anyone related to my husband or me!

Genetics are a factor in the occurrence of spina bifida. Therefore, if you are in any way related to our family, you are by default at a higher risk of having this happen. Sorry about that BUT you should take extra measures like I do and regularly take high doses of folic acid, especially if you are hoping to have a baby.

This is still not a 100% guarantee to prevent a birth defect, but there is an interesting story behind the study proving that folic acid is important to this end. I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch it.

Give Babies a Chance

Having said all that, if you are like me and find yourself 20 weeks pregnant and learning after an ultrasound that your baby has a birth defect, give your baby a chance. The doctors will most likely ask you (several times) if you want to terminate the pregnancy. Please don't. Give your baby a chance. My baby is a beautiful gift and worth every ounce of extra effort!

Last summer, I met an incredible couple who had recently lost a child to Anencephaly. This is another type of Neural Tube Defect that is rare and significantly more severe than spina bifida. The baby is actually born without fundamental parts of the brain and skull, and almost all die shortly after birth. Though they knew this, the couple decided to carry the baby to full term and held their son for the short hour that he lived once born. Their story touched me as I cannot imagine that difficult experience.

A 2004 report from the Center for Disease Control claims that there has been a 27% decline in pregnancies affected by nueral tube defects (spina bifida and anencephaly) since the United States began fortifying grains with folic acid. That's a great start, but you should be intentional in folic acid intake as you prepare to get pregnant.

I know this is a lot of information, but I do hope that you take it to heart and share it with any friends or women you know of child-bearing age.

EAT FOODS HIGH IN FOLIC ACID AND TAKE A SUPPLEMENT

Now let's continue to get the word out!