Perceptions of women of reproductive age about vitamin and folic acid supplements during pregnancy, Taibah University, Almadinah Almunawwarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Attitude and Practice of Folic Acid Consumption Among Saudi Pregnant Women at Yanbu City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background Folic acid (FA) intake is important for pregnant women for the healthy growth and development of their babies. It is well known that the intake of FA before and during pregnancy help in reducing the risks of congenital anomalies. Methods A quantitative cross-sectional design was used to assess pregnant women's attitudes and practices related to FA. This study was conducted in the Antenatal Clinic at Yanbu General Hospital from February 2021 to May 2021. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection from a sample of pregnant women (n=65). Results The study revealed that less than half of the study sample consumed FA daily and only 46.2% of women started consuming FA during the first month of pregnancy. Conclusion Action should be taken by the Saudi Health Organization for empowering child-bearing women to consume adequate sources of FA at the appropriate time and frequency.

Knowledge and Practice of Childbearing Women in Saudi Arabia towards Folic Acid Supplement-Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Neural tube defects are congenital anomalies which canlead to infant death and serious disability. They are initiated during embryogenesis, between the 23rd and 27th day of fetal life, and can be prevented by the administration of folic acid. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the knowledge and practice of Saudi women at childbearing age regarding NTDs and FA supplementation.

METHODOLOGY

This is a cross-sectional study on Saudi women of reproductive age who were asked to complete an online survey to examine their knowledge and practice regarding folic acid supplementation and neural tube defects. Descriptive and simple linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS v.26 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

RESULTS

A total of 613 women have completed the questionnaire, from which the majority (46.7%) were aged between 36 and 40 years. About 94% of women heard about folic acid and 80% indicated that its deficiency has some relation to neural tube defects. Approximately 37%, 25.3%, and 23.2% of women reported the proper time for folic acid intake to be during first trimester of pregnancy, before pregnancy, or throughout pregnancy, respectively. Linear regression analysis revealed that increase age and education were significantly correlated with a decrease in folic acid administration (p = 0.008) and (p = 0.001), respectively. However, there was no association between time of folic acid administration and income or number of parities.

CONCLUSION

Despite the acceptable level of awareness about the relation of folic acid and neural tube defects, our results revealed that more education is required towards the proper time of supplementation among Saudi childbearing women.

Enablers and barriers to women's lifestyle behavior change during the preconception period: A systematic review

Healthy lifestyle behaviors during the preconception period are important to optimize maternal and child outcomes, including weight. However, the majority of women do not have optimal preconception lifestyle behaviors. This systematic review explored enablers and barriers to women's preconception lifestyle behaviors using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour (COM-B) model and Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Preconception was defined as the time before conception, capturing planned and unplanned pregnancies. Medline Complete, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were searched for peer-reviewed, quantitative and qualitative primary studies (English, 2006-2020) that explored enablers and barriers to lifestyle behaviors (diet, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use, supplement intake). Forty-two studies (of 3406) were included, assessing supplement use (n = 37), diet (n = 10), smoking (n = 10), alcohol use (n = 8), and physical activity (n = 5). All three COM-B components were identified only for diet and supplement use. Of the 14 TDF domains, 7 were identified: knowledge, beliefs about capabilities, beliefs about consequences, goals, intentions, social support, and environmental context and resources. The presence/absence of knowledge on healthy behaviors was the most commonly assessed enabler/barrier. Future studies should explore a wider range of factors influencing preconception women's capability, opportunity, and motivation to modify their lifestyle behaviors.

Awareness and Use of Folic Acid among Women of Childbearing Age

Folic acid (FA) given before and during pregnancy reduces the risk of several birth defects, including neurologic, cardiac, urinary and other congenital anomalies in the newborn. Several studies around the world showed less than satisfactory awareness and intake of this important vitamin. We undertook the task of exploring this question among Lebanese women of childbearing age.Between June and November 2014, we conducted this cross-sectional study on women aged 20 to 40 years. The subjects, who agreed to participate, completed a questionnaire, which included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, and knowledge about FA roles during pregnancy, as well as their babies' health.Seventy-six percent reported having knowledge about FA during pregnancy, but only a small proportion knew the benefits for taking it. Also, 93.9% of women took FA supplements during pregnancy, however only 33.6% of the participants took FA before becoming aware of their pregnancy.Public health interventions to improve awareness of FA's roles before and during pregnancy are crucial to curtail birth defects. It is our opinion that it is a very fruitful preventive medicine tool in which every community should invest.