Each year about 3000 babies are born with neural tube defect (NTD) in the United States of America. Some children with NTD will not survive. Those who live usually become paralyzed. Folic acid can prevent up to 70 percent of NTDs. 

 

About 50% of pregnancies are unplanned. So even though you don’t have a plan to get pregnant any time soon, have enough folic acid in your body in case it happens. This is because by the time you realize you are pregnant, your baby’s brain and spine have already formed.