Telemundo Series: Importance of Folic Acid Prior Highlighted in This Week's "Primeros Pasos" on KVEA

Nicte Mack of Los Angeles was always careful about eating healthy and getting regular exercise. What she never expected with her second pregnancy was that her baby would be born with spina bifida, a neural tube defect that happens in the first month of pregnancy when the spinal column doesn't close completely.

"I didn't realize that I should have been taking folic acid as a vitamin supplement even prior to conception to reduce the risk to my unborn child," said Mack. Her interview with Telemundo Los Angeles' anchor/producer Lucia Navarro will air this Wednesday at 6 p.m.

The weekly series on KVEA (Channel 52), "Primeros Pasos," is co-produced by First 5 LA and focuses on the pregnancy and infant development.

"I want to let all women know how important it is to pay attention to this now, because when you find out you're pregnant, it's too late," said Mack. Her daughter, Lourdes, now 4, was one of the 190 babies born with the condition each year in California. Nationally, spina bifida occurs in 6 in 10,000 Hispanic births, compared to 4.6 in 10,000 births among the general population.

Although conditions vary, up to 90 percent of children with the worst form have hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain) and must have surgery to insert a permanent shunt to drain the fluid. Other conditions include full or partial paralysis, bladder and bowel control difficulties, learning disabilities, depression, latex allergy, and social and sexual issues.

Studies have shown that if all women who could become pregnant were to take a multivitamin with the B-vitamin folic acid, the risk of neural tube defects could be reduced by up to 70 percent.

For information, visit www.sbaa.org.