Cases of neural tube defects – birth defects of the brain and spine – have decreased in the U.S. since 1998, when it became mandatory for folic acid to be added to enriched grain products. On Thursday, federal officials reported that the number of defects has declined 35 percent. With this decrease, 1,300 fewer babies are born with these serious defects every year, as reported by WedMD.

Neural tube defects include spina bifida, a defect that can, at its worst, cause partial or complete paralysis below the waist. Folic acid should be in the diet of all women of childbearing age – even those not planning to become pregnant. Dr. Siobhan Dolan, co-author of the March of Dimes book Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby: The Ultimate Pregnancy Guide, said, “All women capable of having a baby should be taking a multivitamin containing folic acid every day.”

Women should get 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. Folic acid can be found in enriched foods, supplements, and in foods high in folate, the natural version of folic acid. Foods with high levels of folate include lentils, green leafy vegetables, black beans, and orange juice.

When high-dose folic acid supplements – 4 milligrams a day – are taken four weeks before the start of a pregnancy and 12 weeks into the pregnancy, the risk of neural tube defects is lower.

Women with a previous pregnancy resulting in a neural tube defect are at higher risk for another one. A CDC study found that among these women, only 35 percent of those whose second pregnancy resulted in a neural tube defect took folic acid. Comparatively, 80 percent of the women with a second pregnancy free of birth defects took folic acid.

The risk of neural tube defects is higher in Hispanic women – by 20 percent – when compared to non-Hispanic white women. The March of Dimes contends that this difference relates to fortification of enriched foods. While white flour has added folic acid, corn masa flour does not. Corn masa flour is more popular among Hispanics; the March of Dimes has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin fortifying corn masa flour as well.