Folate and Prevention of Neural Tube Disease

Abstract

A birth defect also referred to as "congenital anomalies" or "congenital abnormalities" is a health problem or a physical abnormality that a baby has at birth. It can be very mild or severe. Congenital malformations occur all over the world and are responsible for about 15% of the prenatal mortality in India (Merchant, 1989; Kulshteshtra et al., 1983; Swain et al., 1994; Datta & Chaturvedi, 2000). The relative importance of congenital malformations per se has snowballed as they manifest into a major public health concern owing to associated problems mortality, morbidity, social cost, and human suffering.