Press Releases: Georgia
March 29, 2002
Focus on folic acid for women and men
ATLANTA, Ga. – Women of childbearing age should take folic acid every day, even if they don't plan to get pregnant, says Adrienne D. Mims, MD, chief of prevention, health promotion, and research for Kaiser Permanente of Georgia and physician at Kaiser Permanente's Cascade Medical Center in southwest Atlanta. Dr. Mims shares these useful tips:
- Folic acid, a B vitamin, helps prevent birth defects of the brain and spine that affect almost 4,000 babies each year.
- Up to 3,000 of these birth defects could be avoided if women took folic acid daily for at least three months before getting pregnant.
- Folic acid does the most good during the first four weeks when the baby's brain and spine are forming. By the time a woman finds out she's pregnant, it's often too late to get the most benefit from taking folic acid daily.
- Women between the ages of 15 - 45 should take a daily multivitamin with .4 mcg of folic acid to prevent the risk of certain birth defects.
Folic acid is important for men too:
- For men and women (beyond childbearing years), folic acid may play a role in heart disease and cancer prevention.
- Foods such as fortified cereals, beans/legumes, peanuts, orange juice, breads, green leafy vegetables (i.e., broccoli), and fruits are good sources of folic acid.
To help educate its members and the community on the benefits of folic acid intake, especially before pregnancy, Kaiser Permanente of Georgia is partnering with the March of Dimes as presenting sponsor for WalkAmerica. The event takes place on Saturday, April 27, at various locations throughout metro Atlanta. WalkAmerica supports lifesaving research and community programs that save innocent babies from birth defects, low birth weight, and infant death.
Kaiser Permanente is the state of Georgia's largest nonprofit health plan, serving the health care needs of Atlanta metro area residents for 22 years. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc. currently provides comprehensive health care services to approximately 275,000 members through 15 medical facilities in a 28-county service, and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. The Health Plan provided more than $5 million in community benefit programs and services.
