National Folic Acid Awareness Week — Latino babies in North Carolina have a higher rate of serious birth defects

“In North Carolina, Latina/Hispanic women are twice as likely to have a baby born with a neural tube defect NTD, than any other race or ethnicity. This year, the North Carolina Folic Acid Council and the March of Dimes will recognize January 8th – 14th as National Folic Acid Awareness Week in order to reach out to this at-risk population and to educate as many women as possible about the importance of folic acid and multivitamins.

This year the Campaign is focusing on the increased risk Latina women have for serious birth defects, like spina bifida and anencephaly. According to the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, the prevalence of neural tube defects for Latinos/Hispanic is 14.19 per 10,000 live births whereas other races have rates ranging from 6.27 to 4.82 NC State Center for Health Statistics, April 2006.

The same is true across the U.S. where Hispanic babies are 1.5 to 2 times more likely than others to be born with an NTD. Statistics show a higher prevalence of Latinas in the United States delivering babies with NTDs, serious birth defects of the brain and the spine, than non-Hispanic white women. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that Latinas in the United States consume the least amount of folic acid and have the least knowledge about folic acid among racial or ethnic groups in this country.

“Since the Latino population in North Carolina is at higher risk for NTDs, the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign created a special program to reach out to these women,” said Amy Mullenix, MSPH, MSW, Statewide Campaign Coordinator. “This campaign appeals to their specific cultural values by creating family-friendly messages and new media especially for Latinos.”

This year, the North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign has created new materials for Folic Acid Awareness week. Special educational boards and brochures will be displayed at Health Departments and community health centers across the state. A new video has also been released, in addition to all the free materials already available from the Web site at www.getfolic.com.

Research indicates that consumption of folic acid before and during early pregnancy can lower the rate of NTDs by up to 70 percent. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends 400 micrograms of the B vitamin folic acid daily for all women of childbearing age. It is recommended that women take multivitamins and consume fortified grains as part of a healthy diet. Increasing consumption of multivitamins among Latina populations may be the easiest way to decrease the number of pregnancies affected by NTDs.

The North Carolina Folic Acid Campaign is a member of the National Council on Folic Acid, a partnership of national organizations, associations and state folic acid councils reaching over 100 million people a year with the folic acid message. For more information about folic acid and National Folic Acid Awareness Week, visit www.folicacidinfo.org or www.getfolic.com. “

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