CONGRESS PUSHES USE OF FOLIC ACID0

The old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure rings true for women who take folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy.

For just $4 and some change, women can work wonders in preventing birth defects. Folic acid can help reduce the chances of a baby getting a neural tube defect. The neural tube is the part of the developing embryo that is involved in the formation of the brain and the spinal cord.

Researchers have known the benefits of folic acid for a long time. But now some members of Congress are trying to let the whole country know.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond, both Republicans of Missouri, have joined forces to introduce legislation that would provide $20 million each year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to educate the nation about the benefits of folic acid.

Emerson has 100 co-sponsors of the measure in the House. Her bill has been referred to the House Commerce Committee and is awaiting a vote. The Senate version is in the Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

"Parents-to-be hope that their child will be born healthy, happy and safe," Emerson said. "I can think of no simpler way to help reduce the risk of serious birth defects than by drinking just one glass of orange juice or taking one supplement pill each day."

The March of Dimes has studied the issue and found that only 13 percent of women in the country know about the benefits of folic acid in preventing birth defects.

Approximately 2,500 babies are born with either spina bifida or anencephaly. Spina bifida is commonly known as open spine because the spinal cord is malformed and protrudes out the baby's back, causing leg paralysis and bladder and bowel problems. Babies do not survive anencephaly because the upper end of the neural tube does not close and the brain can't form properly.

Folic acid can reduce the chances of getting a neural tube defect by 75 percent, said Matthew Hopkins, executive director of the Greater Missouri Chapter of the Southeast Division of the March of Dimes.

"This is so effective," Hopkins said. "It really is a simple thing that we can prevent."

Folic acid can be taken orally with pill supplements. It also can be found in orange juice, green vegetables, peas, breakfast cereals that say fortified on the box and rice and whole bread that is enriched.

Michael Jessup, a Cape Girardeau obstetrician and gynecologist, has been recommending folic acid to his patients for the last eight years. He delivers 280 babies each year. He said it is difficult to judge how successful folic acid is just by looking at his practice, but across the country the research indicates that it works.

"The main thing I am always telling folks is to make sure that they take 400 micrograms of folic acid each day prior to conceiving," he said. "Usually in the third, fourth and fifth week of pregnancy the spinal is closed."

Jessup said folic acid can help the spinal cord close during its development. He said after it closes, folic acid doses are not necessary because the woman gets enough of it by taking the prenatal vitamins. Women who have had babies with birth defects may have to take as much as 1,000 micrograms to help the formation of the spinal cord.

"Folic acid is a major component for cell building," Jessup said. "It is a big piece of the puzzle allowing cells to replicate."

Because most pregnancies are unplanned, Hopkins said it is critical women begin taking does of folic acid to prevent birth defects on the off chance that they do get pregnant. The most critical time is during the early stages of development when many women do not even know they are pregnant.

"The bottom line is that any woman of child bearing age should have a good balance of folic acid in their diet," Hopkins said.