DPH Joins the Effort to Spread Awareness about Folic Acid

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 9, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Every year, about 1 in 33 babies born in the United States has a birth defect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, many serious birth defects can be prevented, which is why the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH), along with the National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN), is taking part in Folic Acid Awareness Week 2025.

This week (Sept. 7-14) is all about teaching people how folic acid can help prevent serious birth defects and why it's important for women who can get pregnant to get enough every day. Folic acid is a man-made form of folate, a B vitamin that helps your body make new cells such as blood, skin, hair and brain cells. It’s especially important in the early stages of pregnancy when the baby’s brain and spine are starting to form.

“Folic acid can play a key role in lowering the risk of neural tube defects, which are severe birth defects of the brain and spine,” said DPH Birth Defects Program Manager Heather Blackwell. “These structures in the nervous system develop early in a pregnancy, so it is important that women who can get pregnant get an adequate amount of folic acid each day to prevent defects from occurring.”

Neural tube defects (NTDs), some of the most-serious birth defects, include conditions such as spina bifida, anencephaly and encephalocele. They can happen very early in pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant.

Health care providers recommend all women who can get pregnant take 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid every day. This can easily be done by taking a multivitamin with folic acid and eating foods with added folic acid such as certain cereals, breads and grains. Even if you’re not trying to get pregnant, folic acid helps your body stay healthy by making new cells. Starting this habit now can make a big difference in your future health.

In 1991, South Carolina had one of the highest rates of NTDs in the country. Because more women are taking folic acid now, the rate has declined by a staggering 60%. This means that each year, 70 more babies are born healthy across our state – babies who, 30 years ago, would likely have been born with one of these very serious and sometimes life-threatening birth defects.

“We are pleased to have seen those numbers turn in such a positive direction,” Blackwell said. “However, there is still a lot of work to do to reduce serious birth defects, which is why Folic Acid Awareness Week and other efforts to get the word out are so important.”

DPH’s Birth Defects Program and Greenwood Genetics Center (GGC) provide valuable resources for families with a history of birth defects or those newly diagnosed. For more information visit DPH’s Preventing Birth Defects webpage and GGC’s Folic Acid and Birth Defects Prevention webpage.

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