Folic acid to reduce Premature Delivery

Folic acid may reduce a woman's risk of delivering prematurely, study suggests.

There is "some important health news" regarding "the vitamin supplement folic acid."

        A University of Texas Medical Branch team has found that folic acid "might cut the chances of delivering a premature baby by half or more," according to research presented before the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

Moreover, the group found that "taking supplemental folic acid -- either by itself or in a multivitamin -- for at least a year before conceiving was tied to a 70 percent lower risk of delivering between 20 and 28 weeks' gestation, and a 50 percent lower risk of delivering between 28 and 32 weeks."

        The research team found that although "long-term use of folic acid supplements did not affect the risk of preterm delivery after 32 weeks," it was "shown to be associated with function of immune cells, including CD4 cells and CD8 cells," which "reduced the chances of bacteriuria,"