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JAMA. 2009;301(21):2203-2204.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

MMWR. 2009;57:1409-1413

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In 1992, the U.S. Public Health Service recommended that all women of childbearing age consume 400 µg of folic acid daily to help prevent pregnancies affected by neural tube defects (NTDs) such as spina bifida.¹ Subsequently, the Food and Drug Administration mandated adding folic acid to all enriched cereal grain products by January 1998.² During October 1998–December 1999, the birth prevalence of spina bifida in the United States decreased 22.9% compared with 1995-1996³; however, by 2003-2004, no further decrease had been observed.⁴ Notably, the prevalence of NTD-affected pregnancies remained higher among Hispanic women than among women in other racial/ethnic populations.^4-5 To update previously reported data and assess racial/ethnic differences, CDC analyzed birth certificate data for four periods during 1995-2005. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that from the early postfortification period, 1999-2000, to the most recent period of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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