Scope of the Research Proposal
The purpose of this study is to analyze the preventative effects of folic acid supplementation during preconception and pregnancy in women. Folic acid supplementation is a standard recommendation among a variety of vitamins and minerals during preconception and is said to prevent congenital defects, primarily neural tube defects in children. However, various studies suggest that folic acid supplementation is not directly correlated with the prevention of neural tube defects, but other factors such as socioeconomic status, healthcare, and education come into play (Banhidy, 2011). The use of folic acid to prevent neural tube defects is widely accepted and recommended by health professionals and researchers alike; delving deeper into this practice would be helpful in determining its effectiveness. The use of FA in early pregnancy and its association with 70% reduction risk of NTDs was studied. Faucher (2013) found that high maternal education level and low BMI lowers the risk of NTDs. Many research articles urge the use of folic acid supplementation during preconception in women because it was found that its use prevents the risk of NTDs. Researchers also suggest that folate has had a beneficial role in pregnant women and implies that it prevents the risk of NTDs in expectant mothers (Stamm & Houghton, 2013). FA supplementation and promotion towards mothers from healthcare professionals are also significant factors in NTD risk prevention (Tort, et. al, 2013). However, correlation does not imply causation and that some findings cannot establish causality (Berry, 2013). The goal of this research is to analyze the effects of folic acid and the research that contradicts its assumed preventative effects.
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Tort, J., Lelong, N., Prunet, C., Khoshnood, B., & Blondel, B. (2013). Maternal and health care determinants of preconceptional use of folic acid supplementation in france: Results from the 2010 national perinatal survey. Bjog-an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 120(13), 1661-1667. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.12414
Williamson, C., & Wyness, L. (2013). Nutritional requirements in pregnancy and use of dietary supplements. Community Practitioner, 86(8), 44-47. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=2012203053&site=ehost-live
Zhao, M., Chen, Y., Chen, X., Dong, X., Zhou, J., Wang, H., . . . Xu, D. (2014). Folic acid supplementation during pregnancy protects against lipopolysaccharide-induced neural tube defects in mice. Toxicology Letters, 224(2), 201-208. doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2013.10.021
Beginning the case study, we are introduced with the call from the British Medical Research Council (MRC) being informed of the significant results showing the benefits of folic acid and the reductions of NTS’s. The next step for the United States was to decide amongst the CDC and the FDA on the best way to implement these results to women of childbearing age. At that point in time, there were only a few ways to ingest folic acid, which brought
Spina Bifida is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States. It is a birth defect in which a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop properly. The term Spina bifida comes from Latin and means "split" or "open" spine. This disorder occurs when the fetus is growing in the womb and its spine doesn’t form correctly. Some of the vertebrae don’t close to make their normal ring shapes around the spinal cord. This defect happens at the end of the first month of pregnancy, when a baby's spine and spinal cord are developing. Causes of Spina Bifida Causes that cause this disorder are low levels of the vitamin folic acid during pregnancy. Not having enough folic acid in the diet before and during early pregnancy can increase a woman's risk of Spina bifida and possibility of other neural tube defects. A high fever during pregnancy may increase a woman's chance of having a baby with Spina bifida. Some evidence suggests that genes may be a cause of Spina Bifida, but most babies born with Spina bifida have no family history of the condition. Also, women with epilepsy
To begin this study there were a total of 349,043 births but due to missing information of supplement use and the amount of multiple births only 280,127 where used for obtaining information. The study was conducted to show any relationship between the use of multivitamin and folic acid with placental abruption. The findings were quite intriguing. Compared with no use, vitamin supplement use was connected with a 26% decreased risk of abruption with the strongest reduction being when folic acid and a multivitamin were used in tandem followed by a multivitamin alone then by folic acid alone. With the data collected it suggest that folic acid and other vitamin use during pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of placental
This helps the mother control weight gain as she tends to gain less weight in the first trimester. though, they had some differences in their vitamin intake as one mother took medication for prevention of malaria due to her surroundings, they both took the recommended vitamins and nutrition for healthy child development, such as vitamin B complex (folic acid), multivitamins, fruits, vegetables, and an increase intake of water to help with dehydration and constipation. They both exercised during their pregnancy, though their intensity was different. For instance, the first mother didn’t engage in any form of exercise until her second trimester due to her history of miscarriages. The sex exercise was the most shocking part for me as I believe it could potentially harm the baby if care is not taken, but she claimed it helps to prepare the birth canal for childbirth resulting in a less painful and strenuous delivery (Santrock,
Lowdermilk, D. L., Perry, S., Cashion, K., & Alden, K. R. (2012). Maternity & women's health care (10th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Most women are unaware of the risks associated with taking prescription medications while pregnant. Usually the fear is that of alcohol or drug use, but there is rarely any mention of prescription medications. Prescription medicine can actually be quite harmful to a fetus during pregnancy. Over the counter and pharmacy products, as well as medications prescribed by a physician previous to the pregnancy, may not always indicate potential hazards. It is important to check with a physician whether the products are safe for the baby, as well as the mother. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rates both over-the-counter drugs as well as medications your health care provider may prescribe. The FDA system ranks drugs as follows: Categories A through D give specific instructions on whether a specific medication is safe during pregnancy or not. The medications are distinguished by whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Category X is drugs researched and proven to cause birth defects and should never be taken during pregnancy.” (Berger, n.d.). Taking vitamins, drinking caffeine and taking other herbal supplements may...
Whitney, E., Debruyne, L. K., Pinna, K., & Rolfes, S. R. (2011). Nutrition for health and health
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Mayo Clinic collaborative services educational publication. (2004). Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishers Inc.
Is there any food on earth that can provide the PERFECT nutrition to a human? Yes, and it is breast milk. Breast milk is the perfect nutrition. This superior food contains hormones, live antibacterial and antiviral cells and essential fatty acids (What Makes Human Milk Special?, Mar-Apr 2006). All of which are helpful in protecting against any harm. Sicknesses in infants are lowered by the help that breast milk gives. Breastfed children are sick less often than children who aren’t breastfed (What Makes Human Milk Special?, Mar-Apr 2006). Breast milk contains all the nutrients that an infant needs as it continues to grow. When the child is brought into the world it has no way to fight off any d...
When it comes to eating right, it is important that the diet of a pregnant woman has food energy, protein, with many vitamins and minerals, as this is essential for the pregnancy to support the metabolic demands of pregnancy and the baby's growth. It is then, that knowing the fact that the diet of a pregnant woman should be well controlled it is ide...
Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is an important process were babies or young children get milk from the mother’s breast. The article “Breast-fed infants may get enough vitamin D in mothers' milk” shows how nursing mothers can supply vitamin D to their babies. There are two ways to do it, one of them is by the mother’s intake doses of vitamin D via supplements, then breast feeding her child. The other method is by giving daily drops of supplement of vitamin D, directly to the baby. The article mentioned some of the risk babies can get if they do not take vitamin D. A baby who receives an appropriate amount of nutrients and vitamins by breastfeeding or bottle can live longer than a baby with an unhealthy diet and low intake of vitamins and proteins.
Every woman when pregnant has a 3-5% chance of having a baby born with a birth defect, and these chances increase when the developing fetus/ embryos are exposed to teratogens, whether it’s intentional or unintentional (Bethesda (MD), 2006). Teratogens can cause severe birth defects, malformations, or terminate the pregnancy altogether (Jancárková, & Gregor, 2000). The placenta is known as an effective barrier from any detrimental pathogen that can potentially hurt the fetus. The timing of exposure of any teratogen is critical to the impact of prenatal development (Bethesda (MD), 2006). The most vulnerable time of the fetus for severe damage is during early pregnancy when all the major organ and central nervous system (CNS) are developing. Miscarriages have an important role in keeping a pregnancy from evolving when there is something serious going on with the developing fetus/embryo. Miscarriages are more common than we think and are the most familiar type of pregnancy loss (Bethesda (MD), 2006).
The most important indicators of a community’s overall health are maternal, infant and child health. It deals with the health of women of childbearing age from pre-pregnancy, labor, delivery and the postpartum period and the health of the child prior to birth up the adolescence (McKenzie & Pinger, 2015, p.192). The health data that is collected towards maternal, infant and child health are used to see the effectiveness of disease prevention and health promotion services in a community. Prenatal health care is one of the fundamentals of a safe pregnancy. An infant’s health mostly depends on the mother. A child’s during the ages of one to nine are very important to the child’s development and the future (McKenzie & Pinger, 2015, p.217). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccinating children against most vaccine-preventable diseases early in life. One of the community programs for Women, Infants and Children are maternal and child health bureau, which is in charge with the responsibility for promoting and improving the health of our nations mothers and children. Another is woman, infants and children program, which is a clinic-based program designed to provide a variety of nutritional health related goods and services to pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants up to
This journal was useful for me because it gave me the background details on why women are opting for delayed motherhood by the age of 30 or 40. Accordingly, I was able to build up my points on how it will affect the health conditions of both baby and mother and also the risk of taking that challenge.