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intake of folic acid-rich diet, it leads to folic acid deficiency in mother. This deficiency results in anaemia which increases the risk of restriction of foetal growth, pre-term deliveries, still- births, low birth weight, and infant and maternal mortality. According to WHO’s World Health Statistics data, 40.1% of pregnant women worldwide were anaemic in 2016. This situation is highly prevalent in South-East Asian countries including India.
Effects on foetal growth
Deficiency of folic acid can lead to devastating consequences in the foetus. The deficiency of folic acid is found to lead to neural tube defects (NTDs) in foetus. Spina bifida and anencephaly are two most common types of NTDs. Spina bifida arises when spine fails to close completely around the spinal cord during foetal development and 70% of the spina bifida cases occur due to folic acid deficiency. In anencephaly, normal development of brain is hindered with missing bones of skull and large parts of brain like cerebrum and cerebellum. These brain parts are responsible for normal vision, hearing, coordination, and emotions.
Recommended foods and supplements
To prevent all such complications, a pregnant woman should consume high amount of folic acid before, during and after pregnancy. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for folic acid is 400 micrograms (g), and for pregnant womenitisupto600g.Incaseofa woman with diabetes, blood disorders, coeliac disease and who already had a child with neural tube defect, 42000-52000 g of folic acid per day is recommended. In case of a woman carrying twins, around 12000 g of folic acid intake per day is necessary.
Folic acid can be obtained by body through diet rich in folic acid. Folic acid is naturally found in legumes (beans, peas, lentils), asparagus, green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, arugula, cabbage, broccoli), citrus fruits (oranges,
germ (embryo of wheat kernel), eggs, beef liver, mushrooms, and fruits like banana and papaya. These are the good sources of folic acid but sometimes do not meet the daily requirement due to less availability or high demands of folic acid by the body, such as in case of pregnancy.
Food fortification with folate
Nowadays, to combat folic acid deficiency in women, especially in reproductive age group (15-49 years), fortified foods are recommended. Food fortification is the addition of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, iodine, folic acid, etc., to staple food like wheat, rice, oil, salt, and milk. This can be done
Survey-4 (NFHS-4), 53.1% women in reproductive age group in India are anaemic. In order to reduce the risk of deficiency many fortified foods have been introduced by Food Fortification Resource Centre, FSSAI for public use and intake. To maintain a sufficient amount of folic acid required during pregnancy, wheat flour, which is commonly used in Northern India for chapatis and rice, which is a staple food for more than 65 per cent Indians, have been fortified with folic acid and introduced in the market under many manufacturers and brand names. Along with these, many baked products like bread, muffins, cookies, etc., and energy drinks, breakfast cereals, energy bars and pasta have also been fortified with folic acid.
An Indian government initiative called Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Program (WIFS) was established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in response to growing prevalence of anaemia in adolescent girls and boys. It aimed at “fixed day-Monday” approach for weekly administration of IFA tablets having 100 mg iron and 500 g folic acid for 52 weeks in a year.
As the fatal effects of folic acid deficiency in pregnant women and infants are becoming evident, much effort is being put over these approaches including fortification of food, use of folic acid supplements and various government initiatives to reduce folic acid deficiency in pregnant women. If these methods are applied effectively then India will soon be able to see a fall in maternal mortality and infant mortality rate, giving rise to new and healthy lives.
Arushi Jain and Sabyasachi Senapati are with the Immuunogenomics Laboratory, Department of Human Genetics & Molecular Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda. Email: s.senapati@cup.edu.in
An Indian government initiative called Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Program (WIFS) was established by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in response to growing prevalence of anaemia in adolescent girls and boys.
Illustrations: Arushi Jain
due to commercial reasons but it also majorly contributes to public health policies which aim to prevent nutritional deficiencies in citizens. It is a cost- effective method and does not disturb the normal eating pattern of individuals because nutrients are added to staple
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lemons, grapes), brussels sprouts, nuts foods which are widely consumed. and seeds (walnuts, flax seeds), wheat According to National Family Health