The March of Dimes is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. The March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education and advocacy that save babies. Only about 30 percent of American women of childbearing age who are not currently pregnant take a daily multivitamin containing B vitamin folic acid. Among women 18 to 24, that number is even lower - only 19 percent take a multivitamin. However this age group accounts for 32 percent of all births in the United States.
Most women begin taking folic acid after they are pregnant.
In order to be effective in preventing birth defects, folic acid must be consumed before conception and during the first four weeks of pregnancy. Since nearly half of all pregnancies in this country are unplanned, any woman able to have a baby should be consuming folic acid every day. Surveys show that only 13 percent of women know folic acid helps to prevent birth defects. And while more and more women are reporting that they have heard of folic acid, there has been no corresponding increase in the number of women taking multivitamins every day. Kendig says this is because few women truly understand the need to consume folic acid in order to prevent birth defects.