NATIONAL RECOMMENDATION FOR THE PRE-CONCEPTIONAL USE OF FOLIC ACID

Key words: Folic acid supplementation, Congenital malformation, Pre-conception, Prevention

A national recommendation for the pre-conceptional use of folic acid has become a reality also in Italy. The “Network Italiano Promozione Acido Folico per la Prevenzione Primaria dei Difetti Congeniti”, co-ordinated from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, worked out a draft of the recommendation, which was approved in November 2004. All women planning or at risk of pregnancy are advised to take a daily folic acid supplement of at least 0.4 mg, beginning one month before conception and continuing through the first trimester for prevention of neural tube defects and other congenital malformations.