Researchers have long known that women who get adequate amounts of folic acid are much less likely to give birth to infants with spina bifida, a devastating birth defect. New research shows that folic acid supplements dramatically reduce the risk of preterm births, as well.

The study, which looked at self-reported folic acid supplementation among 38,033 participants in a study by the National Institutes of Health, recorded a 70 percent decrease in very early preterm deliveries and a 50 percent drop in early preterm deliveries (28 to 32 weeks) in women who took folic acid supplements during the year before pregnancy.

The finding “makes us optimistic that taking folic acid for at least one year before pregnancy also may greatly reduce the risk of premature birth and reinforces our message that every woman of childbearing age should consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily,” said Dr. Alan R. Fleischman, MD, senior vice president and medical director of the March of Dimes.

© 2009 PDQhealth

Tags: folic acid, preterm births