Potential of folic acid in birth defects prevention to be topic of Friday webcast, broadcast
| September 28, 2005 | |
| Folic acid’s potential to prevent certain neural tube birth defects will be the topic of a Sept. 30 program sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health, in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”Birth Defects Prevention: Realizing the Full Potential of Folic Acid,” an hour-long webcast and satellite broadcast airing from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET, is part of the Public Health Grand Rounds series.
The program will be shown live in Chapel Hill in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation Auditorium on the ground floor of the Michael Hooker Research Center, on the UNC campus. Details on satellite downlink sites, the webcast and registration are at http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu. The program is free but registration is requested to ensure adequate seating at each satellite site. Continuing education credit will be offered based on one hour of instruction. Each year, about one in every 33 babies nationwide is born with some type of birth defect. Of those, 3,000 pregnancies are affected by a neural tube defect, the most common being spina bifida. To prevent such birth defects, a woman must have enough folic acid in her body both before and during her pregnancy. Medical experts have said that most women nationwide do not consume enough folic acid daily to prevent these neural tube defects. “In North Carolina, we encourage all women to take a vitamin every day – it is an easy, healthy thing women can do to take care of themselves,” said Sarah Verbiest, executive director of UNC’s Center for Maternal and Infant Health and co-chair of the N.C. Folic Acid Awareness Campaign (http://www.getfolic.com). Cindy Brownstein, chief executive officer of the Spina Bifida Association of America and the Spina Bifida Foundation, said, “it’s critically important that we reach the 60 million women of childbearing age about the importance of taking a multivitamin with folic acid. Now is the time for them to act – before they become pregnant.” This program will focus on Denver, where a partnership of local and state public health and nonprofit organizations is dedicated to promoting the benefits of folic acid and preventing birth defects in their community and nationwide. “Public health professionals are on the front lines to effectively get this message out to the community,” said Brownstein. Featured objectives of the program include describing the potential for folic acid to reduce neural tube defects and the accomplishments of folic acid fortification; and identifying the gaps that still exist in reaching the full potential of folic acid, misconceptions regarding folic acid, complete sources of folic acid and opportunities to increase the community’s folic acid awareness and consumption. Along with Brownstein and Verbiest, the panel for this discussion will include Dr. Josi Cordero, director of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. 
Photograph of Dr. Hugh H. Tilson
Co-moderators will be Dr. William L. Roper, dean of the School of Medicine, vice chancellor for medical affairs and chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System; and Dr. Hugh H. Tilson, clinical professor of epidemiology and health policy in UNC’s School of Public Health. Public Health Grand Rounds is a program of the N.C. Institute for Public Health, housed within UNC’s School of Public Health. This program is a series of electronically convened, interactive broadcasts that focus on contemporary, strategic public health issues. Past editions of the program may be viewed at http://www.publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu. # # # N.C. Institute for Public Health contact: Beverly Holt, (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu. For further information please contact Ramona DuBose, director of communications for the UNC School of Public Health, by telephone at 919-966-7467 or by e-mail at ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
