My husband and I are hoping to have a second child within the next year. What can I be doing now to help ensure this child's good health?

Dear Dr. Cory:

My husband and I are hoping to have a second child within the next year. what can I be doing now to help ensure this child's good health?

Dear Ms. Sayre:

One way to help ensure your unborn child's good health is to concentrate on eating a healthful diet. In particular, your diet should contain enough folic acid. Taken prior to and during early pregnancy, the B vitamin folic acid can help prevent birth defects of the spine and brain, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, respectively.

The Children's Better Health Institute has promoted the use of folic acid since the early 1980s. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that all women of childbearing potential should consume 0.4 milligrams of folic acid daily. That's the same as 400 micrograms, the measurement on some labels.

This recommended amount of folic acid can be obtained in multivitamins or in supplements containing 0.4 mg folic acid. Some breakfast cereals also contain 0.4 mg folic acid per serving. Orange juice, legumes, various types of beans, and leafy green vegetables such as spinach are good sources of folate.

Researchers report in the December 6, 1995, issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association that the total neural tube defect rate theoretically could be reduced by an estimated 48 percent if an increased number of women would consume 0.4 mg of folic acid daily. Taking folic acid may also have a protective effect on heart disease, cervical cancer, and colorectal cancer.

If you are not already taking a prenatal vitamin specially balanced for the needs of pregnancy, your doctor may want you to start. Keep in mind that excess vitamin A may cause birth defects, so caution should be taken to prevent overuse of multivitamin supplements or fortified foods containing vitamin A.