The pattern of folic acid intake in pregnant women referring to Fatemieh hospital in Hamadan (2005)

Introduction: Half a million of newborns are annually born with neural tube defect around the world. Folic acid intake prevents neural tube defects in newborns significantly. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the pattern of folic acid intake during pregnancy. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was performed using questionnaire and interview. Three hundred and twenty-two women who had terminated their pregnancies at Fatemieh hospital were participated in the study. Results: The results showed that 81.4% of women had used folic acid during pregnancy. 23.9% of women took it from the first month of pregnancy and 16.4% after the third month. Most of women had taken it for more than three months. The lack of knowledge about Folic acid necessity (73.3%) was the main reason for the women who had not taken folic acid during pregnancy. Folic acid intake during pregnancy was significantly associated with education (P=0.004), employment (P=0.052), parity (P=0.000), the number of abortions (P=0.046), the number of newborns with neural tube defects (P=0.034). Also, there was a significant relationship between the use of folic acid during pregnancy and planned pregnancies (P=0.006) and also prenatal care (P=0.047). Conclusion: Although most of women had taken folic acid during pregnancy, the time of initiation was not right. Therefore, it seems that it is necessary to educate women about folic acid advantages and its usage.