Health Professionals:

Delivering the Message

  • Bixenstine PJ, Cheng TL, Cheng D, Connor KA, Mistry KB. Association between preconception counseling and folic acid supplementation before pregnancy and reasons for non-use. Matern Child Health J. 2015; 19(9): 1974-1984.
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Updated estimates of neural tube defects prevented by mandatory folic acid fortification – United States, 1995-2011. MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep. 2015; 64(1): 1-5.
  • Cleves M A , Hobbs C A , Collins H B , Andrews N , Smith L N , Robbins J M. Folic acid use by women receiving routine gynecologic care . Obstet Gynecol. 2004; 103(4): 746-753.
  • de Jong-van den Berg L T W , Hernandez-Diaz S , Werler M M , Louik C , Mitchell A A. Trends and predictors of folic acid awareness and periconceptional use in pregnant women. Am J Obstet Gynec. 2005; 192: 121-128.
  • Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Healthy People 2020. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion website. https://www.healthypeople.gov. Updated January 1, 2017. Accessed January 2, 2017.
  • Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Neural Tube Defects. Florida Birth Defects Registry website. http://www.fbdr.org/Birth_Defects/neuraltubedefects.html. Accessed January 30, 2017.
  • Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Office of Health Statistics and Assessment CHARTS. Florida Department of Health website. Accessed July 15, 2010.
  • Florida Department of Health (FDOH). 2005. Personal communication. Based on 2003 Florida PRAMS and BRFSS data.
  • Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). Florida Department of Health website. https://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/survey-data/pregnancy-risk-assessment-monitoring-system/. Accessed January 31, 2017.
  • Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Report on birth defects in Florida 1998-2007. Florida Department of Health website. http://www.fbdr.org/pdf/FBDR_report_May2011.pdf. Accessed January 6, 2017.
  • Hauser KW, Lilly CM. Florida health care providers' knowledge of folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects. South Med J. 2004; 97(5):437-439.
    Khodr ZG, Lupo PJ, Agopian AJ, et al. Preconceptional folic acid-containing supplement use in the national birth defects prevention study. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2014; 100(6): 472-482.
  • March of Dimes. Improving Preconception Health: Women’s Knowledge and Use of Folic Acid. White Plains, NY: March of Dimes Foundation; 2008.
  • Mosher WD, Jones J, Abma JC. Intended and unintended births in the United States: 1982-2010. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat. 2012; 55.
  • Rosenberg KD, Gelow JM, Sondoval AP. Pregnancy intendedness and the use of periconceptional folic acid. Pediatrics. 2003; 111: 1142-1145.
  • Viswanathan M, Treiman KA, Kish-Doto J, Middleton JC, Coker-Schwimmer EJL, Nicholson WK. Folic Acid Supplementation: An Evidence Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force: Evidence Synthesis No. 145. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2017.

Health professional

Did you know? Eighty nine percent of women who do not take vitamins indicated that if their health provider counseled them about the benefits they would probably take it.

Although advances in fetal surgery for spina bifida are encouraging and provide hope for affected babies and their families, primary prevention should be underscored and can help many such families avoid the heartache of experiencing an NTD.


Health professionals

OB/GYN