The Folic Acid Study
Dear Obstetric Shared Care GPs,
You can help with this important study
Please share this with your antenatal patients
Why are we Doing This Study?
Taking folic acid supplements before becoming pregnant and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is important and has been shown to reduce neural tube defects.
Once the baby’s neural tube has formed, around 28 days following conception, there are no proven benefits to keep taking folic acid supplements.
However, many women choose to take a prenatal multivitamin throughout pregnancy which often contain high doses of folic acid (a synthetic form of folate).
Folic acid has also been added to our food supply following the mandatory fortification of non-organic wheat flour in Australia. Too much folic acid can’t be absorbed and circulates in the blood, unused by the cells, as ‘unmetabolised folic acid’.
In this study, we would like to find out the levels of unmetabolised folic acid in the blood of pregnant women at 36 weeks gestation who take a multivitamin either with or without folic acid after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Who can take part?
If you have women who are between 12 and 16 weeks of pregnancy, currently taking a multivitamin that contains folic acid (and are planning to continue throughout pregnancy), they may be eligible to take part in this study.
What is involved?
- We will ask your patient to take our multivitamin capsules daily from enrolment into the study until delivery of their baby.
- We will take a small blood sample when they enrol in the study and when they are 36 weeks pregnant.
What are the benefits?
- We will supply them with multivitamin capsules that are similar to the leading brands of prenatal supplements available in Australia. The capsules contain vitamins, minerals and either folic acid or no folic acid.
- We will reimburse patients $25.00 for visits to our research clinic.
For more information
Dr Monika Skubisz: 0411 212 877
Call or Text: 0436 925 869
Phone: (08) 8128 4436
Email: folate@sahmri.com
Click Here For Leaflet
MORE RESOURCES FOR YOU
A Randomized Trial of Prenatal n−3 Fatty
Acid Supplementation and Preterm Delivery
Omega‐3 fatty acid supplementation in
pregnancy—baseline omega‐3 status and early
preterm birth: exploratory analysis of a
randomised controlled trial
GP Obstetric Shared Care VIRTUAL ONLINE CONFERENCE
COMING SOON!
We will be announcing our upcoming virtual CPD Activity – A great theme which will explore how COVID-19 is changing Obstetric practice now and discuss as how the Program will look when we come out the other side of this pandemic. Plus more, much more!
We will have a great program with exciting guest speakers.
STAY TUNED!
Please feel free to share this with your clinical colleagues, Practice Nurses/Midwives and your antenatal patients who may be interested.
Don’t forget to visit our GP Partners Australia website for further updates and resources www.gpex.com.au
Stay safe.
If you have any questions or require additional information please do not hesitate to contact the GP Obstetric Shared Care Program Manager, Leanne at Leanne.March@gpex.com.au