Women taking more folic acid, which can prevent birth defects

ATLANTA - The goverment reported Thursday that American women are getting more folic acid, a vitamin that can prevent severe birth defects. <br> <br> A study found that the levels of folic acid in the blood of women of childbearing age almost tripled from 1988 to 2000. <br> <br> Folic acid is a B-vitamin found in some enriched grains and vitamin pills. If women have enough of it in their bodies before pregnancy, it can decrease the risk of spina bifida and brain defects in their babies. <br> <br> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention credited enriched breakfast cereals for the increase. The Food and Drug Administration required the fortification of cereal grain with folic acid in 1998. <br> <br> The only population group that had not met a government target for folic acid levels was non-Hispanic black women. <br> <br> The government suggests women of childbearing age consume 0.4 milligrams of folic acid per day, about the level found in a vitamin pill or a bowl of enriched cereal.