SMFM: Folate Not Protective Against Preterm Delivery
Consumption of folate prior to or during pregnancy does not appear to protect women from spontaneous preterm delivery, according to data presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, held from Feb, 7 to 12 in San Francisco
THURSDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Consumption of folate prior to or during pregnancy does not appear to protect women against spontaneous preterm delivery, according to data presented at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, held from Feb. 7 to 12 in San Francisco.
Verena Sengpiel, M.D., of the Sahlgrenska University Hospital/East in Goteborg, Sweden, and colleagues evaluated 72,989 children born at the time of this study from the Norwegian Mother and Child Study. The investigators identified 955 cases of spontaneous preterm delivery and 18,075 controls.
The investigators found no association between gestational age at delivery and the amount of dietary or supplementary folate intake. In addition, initiation of folate supplementation before or during pregnancy was not significantly related to spontaneous preterm delivery. The investigators also found no significant association between folate supplementation and spontaneous preterm delivery in those who had high dietary folate intake or those who had low intake.
"Data from the Norwegian Mother Child Cohort study do not support a protective effect of folate intake against spontaneous preterm delivery," the authors write.
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