Three-quarters of women took preventable health risks before getting pregnant, and more than half got pregnant while overweight or obese, study says
- Nearly 73% of English expectant mothers had not taken folic acid before becoming pregnant
- Each year, about 190 babies are born with symptoms such as muscle weakness
Three-quarters of pregnant women took preventable health risks before expecting a child, a study finds.
Nearly 73 percent of English mothers-to-be hadn’t taken folic acid before becoming pregnant, it found.
The findings show that public health messages about protecting babies from neural tube defects such as spina bifida have not reached most people.
And more than half of expectant mothers were overweight or obese around conception, which increases the risk of having a premature baby or stalling during labour.
The results come from the first health behavior study of every woman in England who became pregnant in one year and was recorded by the NHS.
Three-quarters of pregnant women took preventable health risks before expecting a child, a study finds (stock image)
Overall, 74 percent of expectant mothers had taken at least one avoidable risk with their health, including smoking around the point of conception.
Researchers, who have only collected data for 2018-19 so far, expect unhealthy behaviors in pregnant women to have continued at a similar rate and hope to publish the most recent statistics this year.
And they demand that folic acid be added to flour immediately, as the government has promised, at a higher level than planned and not just white flour.
Campaigners say it should be added to food because many women are still unaware of the need to ideally take it three months before trying to conceive.
Folic acid helps a baby’s brain and spine develop normally, avoiding problems such as neural tube defects. These problems, including spina bifida, affect about 1,000 pregnancies each year, with 80 percent of babies lost as a result.
Each year, about 190 babies are born with symptoms such as muscle weakness, paralysis and learning difficulties.
Researchers also want GPs and other health professionals to ask women about their plans for pregnancy at appointments and advocate for advertising campaigns to encourage women to start planning a family earlier, if possible.
The study reports that about one-fifth of women who became pregnant in 2018-19 were over the age of 35, which increases the risk of pregnancy complications.
Every year about 190 babies are born with symptoms such as muscle weakness, paralysis and learning difficulties (stock image)
Dr. Danielle Schoenaker, lead author of the study from the University of Southampton, said: “We need to educate people in schools and through social media campaigns, raise awareness and encourage pre-pregnancy overweight women to reach a healthier weight when they try to conceive if possible and take folic acid.’
According to a study of 274 women, less than half of women who are thinking about getting pregnant or trying to get pregnant are actually preparing for pregnancy. Meanwhile, an early motion tabled by Labor MP Siobhain McDonagh calling for preconception care to be available to all is collecting signatures.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health and Social Care said: “We are analyzing the responses to the consultation on the amendment to the Bread and Flour Regulation – a step that could help women carry healthy fetuses and prevent neural tube defects – and will review our explaining the response in the summer.’