GUEST COLUMN: Folic acid is key to good health
Editor’s note: This is the first in new series of columns by Levi Stone, chief nursing officer at Odessa Regional Medical Center. The columns will focus on various health issues including pregnancy and childbirth as well as other topics. If you have a topic to suggest, please contact the OA at 333-7740.
Are you pregnant, planning a pregnancy or is pregnancy possible? Folic acid is a vitamin key to fighting disease and improving health for all age groups, especially women who could become pregnant.
According to the March of Dimes, ALL women of childbearing age should be taking a daily vitamin containing folic acid. Folic acid has been proven to lower the risk for a baby to have a serious birth defect called spina bifida by up to 75 percent.
Jamie Chance MS, CGC, a certified genetic counselor with the ORMC Regional Perinatal Center, explains that spina bifida occurs when the spine fails to close completely. Although surgically correctable in many cases, damage to the spinal cord causes many affected individuals to have long-term problems with paralysis, loss of bladder/bowel control and learning difficulties in school.
A baby’s spine forms long before most women even find out they are pregnant. In order for folic acid to be effective in preventing birth defects then, it has to be taken before pregnancy. If you have other risk factors for spina bifida, it is very important to take even more folic acid than someone in the general population. Women at higher risk for having a child with spina bifida include women with diabetes, seizures, a prior child with spina bifida, a personal/family history of spina bifida and exposure to certain medications. If you fall into one of these categories, please contact your physician to discuss the most effective folic acid routine for your circumstances. Since many pregnancies are unplanned, the best time to start is now!
In addition to taking a vitamin containing folic acid, there are many dietary sources of folic acid including fortified breads, grains and cereals, oranges, avocado, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, kidney beans and many other foods. You can find folic acid in the vitamin section of most grocery stores for less than $5.
Even if you do not plan to begin a family for many years, folic acid has protective health effects, including lowering the risk for heart disease and many cancers.
There is no better way to begin the New Year than by making yourself the healthiest you can be and helping in the fight against birth defects.
>>Levi Stone is the chief nursing officer at ORMC. Contact him at lstone@iasishealthcare.com
