Current Status of Folic Acid Fortification in Romania

Among other benefits, folic acid has proven its role in preventing neural tube defects in the fertile female population. The neural tube defect prevalence is 21.9 in 10.000 births in the Eastern Mediterranean, while in the United States of America, the majority is from 5.5 to 6.5 in 10.000 births. This difference, in favor of the United States, is probably due to the folic acid food fortification program. In Romania, the importance of periconceptional care is still underestimated; women from disadvantaged areas do not seek medical advice before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or even postpartum, and an obstetrician does not monitor most pregnancies. Folic acid supplementation periconceptionally remains a neglected subject in the Romanian population, which could benefit from folic acid food fortification.