Recently, I attended a fundraiser for Sophie’s Voice Foundation, a charitable organization founded by actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker in honor of their daughter, Sophie, who was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth. Spina Bifida is a neural tube defect that affects the development of the spinal cord in unborn infants. Each year, about 3,000 pregnancies are affected by these birth defects, and these children suffer from medical problems, psychosocial issues, learning disabilities, and multiple personal concerns including mobility, bowel and bladder control.

There is a silver lining here, however, with regards to nutrition intervention and prevention. Research has shown that the risk of having a baby with spina bifida can be reduced by up to 70 percent with 400 mcg of folic acid taken daily three months prior to conception and in the first three months of pregnancy. Click here for more research. 

Folic acid is a B vitamin, which our bodies need to make new cells and therefore, is especially important in vitro. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all women of childbearing age who are capable of becoming pregnant get enough of this essential B vitamin daily. Pregnancy isn’t always planned or controlled and therefore, if you are a woman in that age bracket, it is important to heed this advice.

Once pregnant, the FDA recommends you boost your intake to 600 mcg/day and although there’s no toxic level, the FDA advises you keep folic acid consumption to 1000 mcg/day. Here are three ways to ensure you are getting enough in your diet:

1. Have a bowl of folic acid-fortified cereal every morning. The FDA requires that folic acid be added to specific flours, breads and other grains.  Check the label to make sure it is fortified. It might be listed as folate, the natural form of this B vitamin but the amount, 400 mcg, which is usually added remains the same.

2. Take a vitamin. Most multivitamins sold in the United States contain the 400 mcg of folic acid recommended. If you are pregnant, your doctor should prescribe a prenatal vitamin, which also contains at least this amount.

3. Eat a diet rich in folate. In addition to the above, eating a diet rich in folate is not only beneficial for your unborn child but includes foods for overall heart health and disease prevention!

Food Source                                      Folate (mcg)*
Chickpeas, ½ cup                           141
Spinach – cooked, ½ cup              131
Kidney beans, ½ cup                      115
Orange juice, 1 cup                           74
Broccoli – cooked, ½ cup                 84
Green peas, ½ cup                            50
Orange, medium                                39
Strawberries, 1 cup                            35
Romaine lettuce, ½ cup                     32

*Source: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

Check out the Sophie’s Voice Foundation Web site for more information on spina bifida, family outreach programs, prenatal education, surgical options, and how you can get involved!

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and founder of www.Skinnyandthecity.com.  She is also the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being.  For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.

I was very happy to learn Tuesday that the last of the Suleman octuplets is finally home  to be with his brothers and sisters. Jonah ― the last to be sent home ― was the smallest of the bunch, weighing just 1 pound 8 ounces when they were born nine weeks early.

Click here to see pictures of Jonah and his siblings.

But now, the real challenge begins. Let us not forget that these infants were premature and that this last baby stayed in the hospital for almost 12 weeks. There is a lot of data that has been published and analyzed looking at some of the hurdles that premature babies must overcome in their early years.

To me ― as a person who delivers babies for a living ― I also have three of my own ― I am aware of the significance of paying attention to the way kids grow and develop, and how important that attention is in preventing some of these children from failing to meet their full potential.

For parents of full-term infants, paying close attention to developmental milestones is sometimes an afterthought. But for parents of premature babies, keeping track of movement, visual, social and developmental milestones could make a world of difference in identifying problems and finding solutions to meet their needs.

Most premature babies meet their milestones and catch up by the age of 2. But depending on how early an infant is born, their development may lag anywhere from 6-8 weeks in development usually during the first year of life.

It’s important to use your child’s adjusted age when tracking his or her development. For example, if your baby is 21 weeks old, but was born five weeks early, his or her adjusted age is 16 weeks (or 4 months).

Now let’s take a look at some of the milestones the American Academy of Pediatrics says parents can look out for around 16 weeks…

Motor:
o Brings hands together, or to mouth
o Lifts head and pushes on arms when on tummy
o Reaches for objects
o Turns or makes crawling movement when on tummy

Language:
o Turns head to follow familiar voices
o Laughs and squeals
o Combines sounds more often (for example, “aaah-oooh”, “gaaa-gooo”)

Activities:
o Grasps more and reaches for objects
o Brings objects to mouth
o Increases activity when sees a toy

Social/Emotional:
o Is increasingly interactive and comfortable with parents and caregivers
o Shows interest in mirrors, smiles and is playful
o Is able to comfort himself

For more guidelines and milestones at different ages, click here.

Remember: Always watch for progress and do not be afraid to ask for help from doctors, teachers or other family members.

Again, I am pleased that all eight of the children have made it home safe ― I just hope that Nadya Suleman pays as much attention to their progress as she has to publicizing their births, because it should always be about the kids.

About 1 in 50 U.S. infants is a victim of nonfatal child abuse or neglect in a year, according to the first national study of the problem in that age group.

The study focused on children younger than 1 year, and found nearly a third were one week old or younger when the abuse or neglect occurred.