Abstract
This study evaluated the awareness of folic acid, timing of folic acid supplementation and source of knowledge of folic acid intake in Hail region-Saudi Arabia. A sample of 300 married women in the childbearing age (19 - 45 years) in Hail in the period between October/2011 and January/2012 participated in a survey study regarding awareness and use of folic acid before and during pregnancy. Participant women were asked to respond to different questions related to age, level of education, occupation, monthly income, gravidity, and other information concerning folic acid awareness, specific knowledge, supplementation practices, and source of knowledge about the preconceptional intake of folic acid. While 91.0% of the subjects were aware of folic acid, 81.0% knew that folic acid could prevent neural tube defects and 84.0% of the subjects took folic acid prior or during a certain stage of pregnancy. Nonetheless, only 10.0% of the subjects who proclaimed that they know the proper timing for folic acid supplementation recognized that folic acid should be taken prior and during the first trimester of pregnancy. University education was the strongest predictor of folic acid knowledge and university educated subjects had significantly (P P P
Highlights
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are among the most serious congenital factors contributing to infant mortality and serious disability, occurring in over one quarter of a million newborns per year, worldwide
This study evaluated the awareness of folic acid, timing of folic acid supplementation and source of knowledge of folic acid intake in Hail region-Saudi Arabia
About 70% of the subjects who acknowledged of knowing of proper timing for folic acid (FA) supplementation believed that FA should be taken during the first trimester of pregnancy, whereas 41% responded that it should be taken preconceptionally, and only 10% of the subjects who have knowledge of FA indicated that it should be taken preconceptionally as well as during pregnancy
Summary
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are among the most serious congenital factors contributing to infant mortality and serious disability, occurring in over one quarter of a million newborns per year, worldwide. The two most common types of NTDs are anencephaly and spina bifida. A child with anencephaly cannot survive, and dies before birth or shortly afterwards. A child with spina bifida can survive, but often has serious functional abnormalities, and may be mentally retarded [1]. The discovery that the intervention by folic acid (FA) supplementation can prevent NTDs has granted the chance of essentially eliminating these common congenital defects, if the efforts to increase intake of FA are successful. Consumption of a supplement containing 400 μg of folic acid prior and during the first trimes-
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