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To the Editor: The US Public Health Service in 1992 and the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine in 1998 recommended that all women of reproductive age consume 400 µg of synthetic folic acid daily, whether or not they are planning a pregnancy.^1-2 These recommendations were issued to prevent spina bifida and anencephaly. By 1997, only 20% of newly pregnant women in the United States were consuming the recommended amount of folic acid. Low-income women, on average, consume vitamin supplements even less frequently.³ We sought to estimate how many low-income women in Atlanta are following the current folic acid recommendations.

Methods

In fall 1999, we interviewed 150 African American inner-city women who came to the Grady Memorial Hospital for their first prenatal visit to determine their use of folic acid supplements before and during pregnancy. We also obtained information about dietary habits and other potential predictors of synthetic . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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