Background: In 1992, the United States Public Health Service, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the United States Institute of Medicine recommended periconceptional intake of 400 microg of folic acid (FA) in order to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTD) by 70%. Our objective was to assess among pregnant women the periconceptional intake of FA and to assess the level of knowledge among health professionals regarding the benefits associated with FA intake as a preventive measure of NTD.
Methods: We designed a prospective and cross-sectional study to assess certain sociodemographic and reproductive health characteristics, knowledge of periconceptional intake, benefits of FA intake among pregnant women and among health workers. Descriptive statistics was employed.
Results: From 200 pregnant women, only 1.7% had taken 400 microg doses of periconceptional FA. Among participating health care personnel only 10.17% knew about the benefits of periconceptional intake of 400 microg of FA.
Conclusions: Periconceptional intake of FA among our sample of pregnant woman was very low and knowledge of its benefits among health professionals was also scarce.
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