Stork Folic Acid Campaign - United States

The announcements urged women to consume 400 micrograms of folic acid each day throughout all childbearing years, beginning before pregnancy. In the national broadcast campaign, a stork was pictured bringing not only the news that "sometimes a pregnancy can surprise you," but also that "folic acid helps reduce the risk of certain birth defects...if you start before you're pregnant." The ads aired on broadcast and cable stations throughout the United States, augmented by radio versions.

The broader education campaign included a series of celebrity print public service announcements (PSAs), the first of which featured actress Salma Hayek.

Women, Children, Health, Family Planning.

Each year, an estimated 2,500 babies are born with NTDs, the most common of which is spina bifida (a leading cause of childhood paralysis). Many additional pregnancies result in miscarriage or stillbirth.

Despite years of public health campaigns advising that taking the B vitamin folic acid helps prevent NTDs, most women of childbearing age are still not taking the vitamin in time, according to a survey conducted by the March of Dimes. Although 75% of women say they have heard of folic acid, 9 out of 10 do not know that folic acid must be consumed before pregnancy in order to be effective, and only 1 in 7 know that taking folic acid prevents birth defects. The research also indicated that half of the women who are aware of the importance of folic acid learned about the vitamin through print and broadcast media.

Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned.