Folic Acid Cuts Risk of Premature Birth

Posted on May 14, 2009 by David Austin

Folic acid has long been known to cut the risk of brain and spinal cord defects when taken as a supplement during pregnancy. Now it’s also being linked to a significantly reduced risk of premature delivery.

Premature birth is one of the greatest risk factors for conditions such as cerebral palsy and mental retardation. But if taken for one year prior to pregnancy, folic acid can cut the risk of early preterm birth (28-32 weeks gestation) by 50 percent and very early preterm birth (20-28 weeks) by 70 percent.

These findings are based on an analysis of folate supplementation in 38,033 women who participated in a National Institutes of Health study. The research is published in the current issue of PLOS Medicine, an online journal.

The March of Dimes recommends that women take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day.


 

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Research Findings Offer Identifiable Cerebral Palsy Risk Factor

Posted on February 19, 2009 by David Austin

The findings of a new study to be presented at the Third International Cerebral Palsy summit this week show that infections in the mother during pregnancy increase the risk of cerebral palsy – in some cases by as much as sixfold.

While cerebral palsy may be caused by medical negligence, most causes of the condition remain unknown. So this research, according to the president of Cerebral Palsy Australia, is significant in that it offers those in the medical community with an “identifiable risk factor.”

The study itself involved the examination of birth records of nearly 500 children born in the 1980s, some of whom developed cerebral palsy and some who did not. It was found that women who had infections of the urinary tract, among others, were more likely to have a child with cerebral palsy.

Another study to be presented at the international summit will focus on another risk factor – in vitro fertilization (IVF), a procedure that may give rise to multiple births and premature labor. Danish researchers found that children born by way of IVF or assisted conception had higher rates of cerebral palsy.


 

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