A prepregancy healthy dietary pattern in addition to folic acid supplementation could be a key to reducing neural tube and other birth defects. When Stanford University researchers controlled for supplement use they found a high quality diet that included fruits, vegetables and whole grains was associated with a 51% lower risk of anencephaly, 34% lower risk of cleft lip and 26% lower risk of cleft palate when compared with the poorest diets.
PositiveTip: Dads, encourage Mom to each a health diet before pregnancy if you want to minimize birth defect risks.