Encephalocele

Q I am pregnant with my first child, and my husband and I want to make

sure that we get our baby off to a good start. Several people say that I should be taking folic acid while I'm pregnant. What is the connection between folic acid and pregnancy?

V.G., Tampa, Fla.

A Doctors have been encouraging women to take folic acid be fore and during pregnancy as a way to reduce their risk of having a baby with neural tube defects--birth defects that occur when part of the nervous system of the developing child fails to close completely during the first month of pregnancy. As a result, the infant could experience a variety of conditions, including spina bifida, anencephaly and encephalocele.

Researchers say that severe brain and spinal birth defects have dropped 27 percent in the U.S. since the government began requiring makers of cereal, pasta, bread and flour to fortify their foods with folic acid.

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