Folic Acid and Pregnancy: Assessing Awareness, Timing, and Use of Folic Acid Among Pregnant Women in Medinah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

TL;DR

This study examines how well pregnant women in Medinah, Saudi Arabia, understand and use folic acid, finding high usage but significant gaps in knowledge about its role and timing.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into folic acid awareness and usage patterns among pregnant women in Medinah, Saudi Arabia.

Findings

98.5% of participants reported using folic acid during pregnancy.

Only 19.0% correctly identified folic acid as a vitamin.

70.8% knew to take folic acid in the first trimester, but only 43.8% knew to start three months before pregnancy.

Abstract

Background: Folic acid (FA) plays a crucial role in the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs) and other congenital anomalies during fetal development. Despite the known benefits, awareness and proper utilization of FA among pregnant women remain inconsistent globally.

Objective: The overall objective of this study was to assess the awareness and practices related to FA use during pregnancy among Saudi women attending antenatal care clinics in Medinah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October to December 2024 at selected antenatal clinics across the primary healthcare centers and the maternity hospitals in Medinah. A total of 400 Saudi pregnant women were recruited using a cluster sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured, validated questionnaire administered via face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney Z-test, and Kruskal-Wallis H-test were used to analyze the data with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Among the 400 participants, 194 (48.5%) were aged 31-40 years, 182 (45.5%) held a bachelor’s degree, and 306 (76.5%) were housewives. A total of 394 (98.5%) reported using FA during pregnancy, but only 76 (19.0%) correctly identified it as a vitamin. Additionally, 215 (53.8%) recognized its role in preventing neural tube defects. Awareness regarding the appropriate timing of FA intake was 283 (70.8%) for the first trimester and 175 (43.8%) for starting three months before pregnancy.

Conclusion: Although most pregnant women reported taking FA, there were notable gaps in their knowledge regarding its classification and proper timing of intake. These findings indicated the need for targeted educational campaigns through tailored health education programs, social platforms, and community-based programs to enhance awareness toward the importance of taking FA before and during pregnancy.

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