Premature births: Why pregnant women must take folic acid

Cod liver oil capsules.Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin found in a wide variety of foods, including liver and green leafy vegetables. Experts have found that daily intake of this vitamin by women during childbearing age would go a long way to reduce cases of premature births and birth defects, reports Sade Oguntola.

Premature birth is one of the leading causes of death of new babies in the world. Experts suggested that babies who are born prematurely – that is before 37 weeks gestation – are more likely to die in childhood and less likely to go on to have children of their own.

There are indications that children who are born extremely prematurely are at a high risk of developing learning difficulties by the time they reach 11 years of age. This is because extremely premature children have serious disabilities, such as learning difficulties, cerebral palsy and impaired vision or hearing.

A study found that extremely preterm children had significantly lower reading and mathematics scores than their classmates. In addition, extremely pre-term boys were more likely to have more serious impairments than girls.

Despite the fact that babies born prematurely are less likely to survive and are more likely to have breathing difficulties and learning or development problems, there are currently no effective methods for preventing or treating premature birth.

However, there are certain procedures to help women ensure they do not have premature babies. A simple solution that experts suggested to reduce a woman’s chances of having a premature baby is a daily intake of Folic acid, that small yellow tablets that pregnant women are usually advised to take to ensure their babies do not end up with brain or spine problems.

Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin found in a wide variety of foods, including liver, green leafy vegetables, yeast extract, brown rice and fruit such as oranges and bananas. It is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells, and is especially important during infancy and pregnancy.

According to a new study finding, women who took the supplement for, at least, a year in the run-up to pregnancy were 70 per cent less likely to give birth prematurely compared to the women who did not take additional folic acid supplementation.

Doctors from the University of Texas tracked the progress of almost 35,000 pregnancies. Some women had taken folic acid for at least a year before becoming pregnant, others for shorter periods of time, or not at all.

Doctors from the University of Texas looked at the pregnancies and childbirth experiences of almost 35,000 women. Some women had taken folic acid for at least a year before becoming pregnant, others for shorter periods of time, or not at all. In the journal PLoS Medicine, they reported that women who took folic acid supplements were 50 per cent less likely to give birth to premature babies between 28 and 32 weeks and 70 per cent less likely to have a very early pre-term delivery between 20 and 28 weeks.
Meanwhile, the researchers found that the use of folic acid appeared to have no effect on the risk of pre-term birth after 32 weeks. Although beginning supplementation around the time of conception reduced the risk of neural tube defects, it did little to reduce pre-term births.

The lead researcher, Dr Radek Bukowski, advised women to take 0.4mg of folic acid a day - the same amount as advised to prevent spina bifida - from well before they plan to start a family. He said it is likely that folic acid reduces the risk of infection, a common cause of premature births.

Professor Adewale Sule-Odu, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State, stated that for a long time, pregnant women have always been recommended to take folic acid to prevent inborn birth deformities such as neural tube defects.

He acknowledged that the current practice is that women should commence the use of folic acid before they are pregnant and till much after the first three months of pregnancy to help ensure proper development of the child. Professor Sule-Odu said the study definitely reinforced the recommendation that all women of childbearing age should take multivitamins and stressed that for it to be the standard medical practice, more extensive studies that include more women and locality would require to be carried out.

“This is an age of evidence-based medicine and if found to be reproducible in different parts of the world, then, it would be the message to pass on to women in child bearing age,” he declared.

Dr. Oluwadamilola Lewis, the medical consultant at the Shalom Medical Centre, Orita Challenge, Ibadan, explaining why pregnant women should always take folic acid, declared that the vitamin had been effective in ensuring that women have healthy babies. “We usually ask that they take folic acid supplements to help ensure growth of cell in the baby in the womb and ensure blood production.”

Dr. Lewis opined that the claim that folic acid may prevent premature birth by 70 per cent, he stated, may be because folic acid is helpful in ensuring rapid cell growth needed to make tissue and organs, as well as ensure optimal health of the mother-to-be. He, however, caution against the abuse of folic acid supplement, saying that women should only take it when it is recommended for them to use.

In addition to preventing pregnancy complications, previous studies had suggested that folic acid could also have beneficial effects in preventing stroke and cardiovascular disease in adults.

By eating right, quitting smoking and drinking, seeing a doctor regularly, and even keeping their teeth healthy, mothers-to-be can cut their chances of giving birth to premature babies.

Smoking, drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs are habits that harm a baby that is still in the womb and raise the chances of premature birth. They can also interfere with conception. All women planning a pregnancy should also get themselves examined and treated for infections in their genital area, which can affect their pregnancies. They should get their teeth checked, because serious gum disease can lead to infections that can cause a baby to be born too early. They should also make sure they eat a balanced diet.