Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the research report <i>Preventions of Neural Tube Defects: A Cross Sectional Study of the Uptake of Folic Acid Supplementation in Nearly Half a Million Women</i>, published by PLS ONE in February 2014, which showed uptake of folic acid to be declining.

The report showed that the proportion of women taking folic acid supplements before pregnancy (as recommended) fell from 35% in 1999-2001 to 31% in 2011-12. We are currently considering this information alongside a range of other relevant studies to inform a decision on the best way to improve folic acid intake in women of child bearing age. In the meantime, we continue to encourage women to take a folic acid supplement from before they are pregnant to the 12th week of pregnancy, and include this in all appropriate public health messaging.