Periconceptional use of folic acid amongst women of advanced maternal age

Between February 1994 and February 1997 a group of 881 women completed a qu estionnaire on the use of Folic acid. During the study period the percentag e of women who had been informed about the benefits of folic acid rose from 41 per cent to 90 per cent and the percentage taking supplementation rose from 18 per cent to 60 per cent. Nevertheless, few women used folic acid at the right time and dose and although 90 per cent would have been willing t o follow recommendations, correct use did not exceed 25 per cent. It is con cluded that effective folic acid supplementation requires food fortificatio n rather than information provided by healthcare workers. Copyright (C) 199 9 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.