Association of maternal folic acid consumption with preterm labor: Findings of a cohort study in Iran

Abstract Background and Objective: Nutritional factors are a matter of debate in the etiology of preterm labor. This study was conducted to assess the association of maternal folic acid consumption with preterm labor .comprised and Materials and Methods: This cohort study was conducted on 191 healthy pregnant women in 2009, referring to two teaching hospitals in Tehran (Iran). The folic acid intake was measured and its correlation with preterm labor (premature rupture of membrane, newborn birth weight, and Apgar score) was assessed. Pearson and Spearman correlation tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: The age range of the participants was 19 to 41 years with a mean and standard deviation of 27.8 and 4.4 years, respectively. Birth weight mean of newborns was 3228.64 (± 439.86) g with a gestational age mean of 38.7 (± 1.49) weeks. In 7 cases, 3.7% of the infants were born premature. In the second trimester of pregnancy, the average intake of folic acid was 1.16 (± 0.79) mg. The correlation of folic acid intake with the pregnancy outcomes was not significant. Conclusion: Our findings did not indicate favorable association of folic acid intake with pregnancy outcomes neither for mothers nor for their neonates. We suggest conducting further studies on larger sample sizes and determining serum folate level.