Level of Awareness and Knowledge of Folic Acid Intake among Women in the Reproductive Age in ARAR Region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects. As approximately 50% of pregnancies are unintended, women of reproductive age should be aware of the importance of folic acid. This study aims to assess the level of awareness and knowledge among childbearing female on the importance of preconception folic acid supplementation in preventing neural tube defects (NTDs) in Arar city. Methodology: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Arar city, Norther Saudi Arabia on included Saudi women in reproductive age. A pre-designed online questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was entered and analyzed using statistical package for Social Sciences Program, version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). The results were displayed as counts, percentages. Appropriate statistical tests will be used for comparisons. P ≤ 0.05 is considered significant. Results: The sample consisted of 428 women in reproductive age, 60.1% aged between 30 to 40 years, 39% aged between 20 to 30 years and only 0.9% aged between 18 to 20 years old. 91.8% were married. 85% of participants reported that their doctor prescribed folic pills for them before. 95.1% think that women should take folic acid pills in pregnancy while 75.2% think that it is necessary to take folic pills pre-pregnancy. 85.3% had taken folic acid pills in previous pregnancy. 31.3% think that it should be stopped after pregnancy. 84.6% think that folate deficiency causes fetal abnormalities. Only 8.4% of studied women reported attending seminar or lecture on folic acid importance. Conclusion: The results of the current study affirmed good knowledge of folic acid supplementation usage during pregnancy among women in Arar, KSA. There was a significant association between knowledge of folic acid taking importance during pregnancy with marital status, number of children, and educational level of participants.