Preconception counseling improves folate status of women planning pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether counseling women planning pregnancy to start or continue folic acid supplementation improves folate status.


METHODS
Women and their partners reported folic acid supplement intake in a preconceptional health questionnaire, and the women were categorized as reported "users" or "nonusers" of supplements before counseling. The use of periconceptional folic acid was addressed at a subsequent preconceptional consultation. Differences between reported supplement users and nonusers before counseling as well as between assumed users and nonusers of folic acid (with precounseling red cell and serum folate levels above and below 590 nmol/L and 20 nmol/L, respectively) were analyzed.


RESULTS
A total of 111 (66%) of 168 eligible women participated. Estimated mean red cell folate levels of women who reported no use of folic acid supplements before counseling increased significantly after 4 months from 540 nmol/L to 680 nmol/L. Red cell folate levels of women who reported taking supplements (44%) remained stable up to 1 year after counseling. Women with low precounseling folate levels showed a highly significant mean increase in red cell folate from 475 nmol/L to 689 nmol/L 4 months after counseling.


CONCLUSIONS
Addressing periconceptional folic acid use at a preconceptional consultation improves folate status among women planning to conceive.
de Weerd
Sabina
S
Department of Chemical Endocrinology, University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Thomas
Chris M G
CM
Cikot
Rolf J L M
RJ
Steegers-Theunissen
Régine P M
RP
de Boo
Theo M
TM
Steegers
Eric A P
EA
D000328:Adult; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D012494:Sampling Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D005492:Folic Acid