National Council on Folic Acid Radio Media Tours

Recently, the National Council on Folic Acid (NCFA) executed two radio media tours (RMTs) with the goal of increasing awareness about the importance of daily folic acid intake. Conducted in October 2009 and January 2010, these tours were designed to reach women of childbearing age, their key influencers, and stakeholders with critical health messages regarding the benefits of folic acid and its role in preventing neural tube defects.

The first media tour coincided with National Spina Bifida Awareness Month held in October and aired on 10 top-ranked radio stations across the country. The second tour aired during National Folic Acid Awareness Week, recognized during the first full week of January, on 16 top-ranked stations with increased coverage on major Hispanic networks. Between the two tours, the audience reach was nearly 33 million and included national placements with CNN and its 900 affiliates and Metro Source with 1500 affiliates.

The RMTs were conducted as interviews via tele-conference. In addition to the vital folic acid information, interviewees also informed listeners that fifty percent of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and that many women are in the dark about what they need to do before they become pregnant to guard against birth defects.

“Outreach about folic acid is one of the key efforts we all undertake as partners in this vital coalition, and the final report on these tours outlines results that we know will make a real difference,” says Sara Struwe, COO of Spina Bifida Association (SBA) and Acting Project Director of NCFA.

For more information, contact:
Sara Struwe
Acting Project Director
800-621-3141 ext. 12
sstruwe@sbaa.org

State-Specific Birth Defects Profiles

The National Birth Defects Prevention Network (NBDPN) has created a state profile template that includes state and national data on the number of cases and prevalence rates for 12 conditions. The national estimates are based on pooled data from states with active surveillance systems. States have tailored their profiles to include state-specific information on their surveillance systems and how birth defects data are used in their states. Most state profiles include estimates of the number of state cases of neural tube defects (Spina Bifida and Anencephaly). For the individual state data please see: http://www.nbdpn.org/current/resources/profiles.html.

For more information, contact:
Norma J. Ryan, PhD, RN, CHES
Program Coordinator
Ohio Connections for Children with Special Needs (OCCSN)
614-752-9523
Norma.Ryan@odh.ohio.gov

March of Dimes Grant Will Improve Health of Young Women in
          Tennessee

The March of Dimes Tennessee Chapter has awarded a grant to the Tennessee Folic Acid Council (TFAC) to support, “Did u know what’s good 4 u is good 4 ur future baby?” a campaign utilizing text-messaging and Web technology to educate college women on important lifestyle issues.

The project is geared toward young women attending Middle Tennessee State University. Through the program, they will learn about the importance of folic acid and birth-defects prevention, not smoking, abstaining from alcohol, as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of developing diabetes, obesity, and other chronic health conditions. Peer-directed educational activities will include a text-messaging campaign and other online educational tools.

“We will use the March of Dimes grant as seed money to meet our objective of providing young women from all areas of Tennessee with education on healthy lifestyles, which may impact them today as well as tomorrow as future parents,” said Cindy Chafin, TFAC Coordinator and project director for MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services. “We want to use innovative methods of reaching these young women that fit with the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendation for pre-conceptual health.

MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services has been a previous grant recipient for folic-acid education and has been involved in several activities of the Tennessee Folic Acid Council.

For more information on this program, visit www.folicacidtn.com or http://mtsu.edu/~achcs/.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies and in 2003 launched a campaign to address the increasing rate of premature birth. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish language Web site at nacersano.org.

For more information, contact:
Cynthia Chafin, M.Ed., CHES
MTSU’s Center for Health & Human Services & Community Health Collaborative
Tennessee Folic Acid Council
Project Director and Consultant
615-847-3081
cindychafin@comcast.net

New Hampshire WIC Nutrition Program gives a Special Gift to
          all Moms!

The New Hampshire WIC Nutrition Program joined the New Hampshire Folic Acid Education Program to celebrate National Folic Acid Awareness Week during the month of January.

Every woman who had an appointment at the Concord WIC Program during the month of January received a special gift. That gift was folic acid! Each gift bag was specially prepared with a 3-month supply of multivitamins containing 400mcg of folic acid, a decorative pill box, a reminder magnet to take your folic acid every day, a purple nail file and a fact sheet about the everlasting benefits of adequate folic acid every day for the prevention of birth defects. “The mothers loved receiving the special little gift bags filled with folic acid goodies, and most were excited to start the new year with a new healthy habit,” according to Kristina Thompson, a WIC nutritionist who lead the initiative.

The educational materials were from the Centers for Disease Control. The special gift bag initiative lasted for the month of January and included all women between the ages of 15-45 who had a WIC appointment. Folic acid supplements and educational materials are available throughout the year for WIC postpartum moms during their nutrition visits.

For more information, contact:
Lissa A.Sirois, RD, IBCLC
NH DHHS Folic Acid Education Program
Folic Acid Coordinator
800-852-3310
FolicAcidNH@dhhs.state.nh.us

Takin’ it to the Streets: SBA of Colorado Spreads the Word on Folic Acid

Spina Bifida Association of Colorado (SBACO) has taken an energetic approach toward educating women on the importance of folic acid in the prevention of spinal cord defects. Using the tagline “Just Tell One,” they hope that the people they reach directly can multiply their efforts by sharing the message with friends and loved ones.

The awareness program was conceived by three members of SBACO, who applied to National SBA and received a Prevention Awareness Grant for $5,000 to cover expenses for their initiative. Hoping to maximize their impact and to underscore the importance of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy, the group has targeted bridal fairs, a Women’s Expo, a Cinco de Mayo celebration and the Chapter’s SBA Walk, Run N Roll event, where they distribute vitamins and information packets. The group has also spread the word through statewide press releases and through a presence on Facebook. In the future, they plan to target health clinics in areas of town that serve Hispanic women.

Chapter Board Member and grandmother of a 3-year-old with Spina Bifida, Laura Higashi believes in the domino effect. “I take every opportunity to ‘Just tell one,’” she said. Purchasing large quantities of vitamins for distribution at events piqued the interest of a store clerk. When Laura shared the reason for the purchase, the clerk responded positively, saying he would tell his girlfriend what he had learned. The group has even designed T-shirts emblazoned with “Just Tell One” on the front and “Folic Acid” on the back to hand out at events.

Susan Newcomb, Treasurer of SBACO, believes the message is best communicated by a variety of people with differing perspectives. Her daughter Brittany is of child-bearing age and does not have Spina Bifida. Brittany is able to connect with young women who may underestimate the importance of preventive measures. Laura can speak from the perspective of a grandmother, and Margaret and Susan both live with Spina Bifida themselves. The group has even connected with the Department of Human Services’ Fatherhood Program, educating fathers through the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative.

For more information, contact:
Marie Arroyo
Board Chair
SBA of Colorado
303-903-8201
Lizita77@aol.com

The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition Announces
          Their Latest Project

The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) is proud to announce the launch of their latest collaborative project, text4baby! Text4baby is a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health. An educational program of HMHB, text4baby provides pregnant women and new moms with information they need to take care of their health and give their babies the best possible start in life.

Women who sign up for the service by texting BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411 will receive free SMS text messages each week, timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth.

Recognizing the importance of prenatal education and nutrition, HMHB made sure to include several messages throughout the pregnancy module about folic acid, birth defects prevention, and other important nutritional advice.

Aside from messages specific to folic acid intake, there are also nutritional messages on healthy breakfasts, proper weight gain, safe fish, caloric intake, and iron deficiency. Select messages contain contact information for WIC clinics and the USDA National Hunger Clearinghouse; we have also provided subscribers with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s free hotline on local prenatal services (1-800-311-BABY, or 1-800-504-7081 in Spanish). Additionally, text4baby goes beyond just nutritional messaging and includes topics such as immunization, oral health, and safe sleep, to name a few.

For more information on our program and how you can get involved with text4baby,visit www.text4baby.org or contact,

For more information, contact:
Judy Meehan
Executive Director
National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
703-837-7547
jmeehan@hmhb.org