A nationwide program for the use of preconceptional folic acid to prevent the development of open neural tube defects. Who is really using folic acid?

RESUMO

A nationwide program directed at stimulating the preconceptional use of folic acid (FA) for the prevention of open neural tube defects has been in effect in Puerto Rico for the last 4 years. To evaluate its effectiveness, 479 questionnaires were distributed among pregnant patients. The average age was 27 (range 14-21), and 64.9 of the pregnancies were unplanned. Preconceptional use of FA was 31.5, despite 87.7 of patients reporting knowledge about the importance of FA use. Only 35.4 of patients who had knowledge about FA used it prior to conception. Among patients who planned their pregnancies and knew about the importance of FA, 92/168 (54.6) used it prior to pregnancy. With these dismal results, we believe these campaigns should re-evaluate their educational strategies and consider reduction of unplanned pregnancies as part of their goals.