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National Birth Defects Prevention Month and National Folic
Acid Awareness Week
January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month, and January 8--14 is National Folic Acid Awareness Week.
Birth defects affect approximately one in 33 newborns in the United States. The cost of lifetime care for infants born in a
single year with one or more of 17 severe birth defects has been estimated at $6 billion
(1).
CDC has issued recommendations for all women and men of childbearing age to improve their health throughout
their lifespans, especially if they are planning to have children
(2). Health-care professionals should encourage men and women
to adopt healthy behaviors, such as having regular medical check-ups, planning their pregnancy with their partner, and
avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs.
For women, taking the B vitamin folic acid before and during early pregnancy can prevent serious birth defects of
the spine and brain; however, folic acid use has not changed substantially
(3). Information about CDC's birth defect--prevention activities is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd, and information about National Birth
Defects Prevention Month is available at
http://www.nbdpn.org/current/resources/bdpm2007.html.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
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