Call for Change Level of Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude to Follow a High Folate Diet among Pregnant Women.

Research Abstract

Background: Official health education initiatives have promoted folic acid (FA) supplementation and a diet rich in folate through mass media, including TV, newspapers, and magazine articles worldwide. Public health campaigns aimed to increase awareness, knowledge, and periconceptional use of FA should concentrate on using appropriate intervention methods worldwide. The CDC recommends that all women of childbearing age consume 0.4 mg of FA per day and 5 mg for women at higher risk of neural tube defects (NTDs). Aim: assess women’s levels of knowledge, attitude regarding FA intake. Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. The study was conducted in antenatal care units which affiliates to 5 settings in Beni-Suef city on a total of 500 pregnant women. Using a structured interview questionnaire to collect data. Results: The findings of this study indicated that, most of studied women (96.1%) who don't know proper time of folic acid intake didn't know it's benefits, three quarters (75%) of those who mentioned that is not important to take folic acid during pregnancy didn't know it's proper time of intake, more than half (55.6%) of those who reported preconception as a proper time for folic acid intake to help ensure women have a healthy baby. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, it can be concluded that, there is a lack of effective public awareness program regarding the importance of periconceptional administration of FA to reduce risk of NTDs

Research Keywords

Folic acid - Awareness - neural tube defects