A new study has warned that expecting mothers are putting the health of their babies at risk.
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The drop in folic acid consumption comes even as studies showed that majority of spina bifida and other birth defects affecting the brain, spine or spinal cord, in a newborn baby can be avoided by having a high level of folate, or vitamin B9, before the pregnancy. The study has been published in the online edition of the journal of the Public Library of Science
“It's a public health tragedy that, in spite of the folic acid fortification initiative in many countries, the UK has not introduced mandatory folic acid fortification. The failure to fortify flour with folic acid is like having a polio vaccine and not using it”, study author Sir Nicholas Wald said.
Source-Medindia