Perceive Effect of Folic Acid in the Prevention of Neural Tube Defect Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in Maryam Abacha Women and Children Hospital Sokoto, Sokoto State. by Lawal Abdulhafiz Adm No: 1410712049 Department of Nursing

ABSTRACT
Neural tube defects (NTDs) are common complex congenital malformations of the central nervous system resulting from failure of the neural tube closure during embryogenesis. This study aimed to assess the “Perceive effect of folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defect among pregnant women attending ANC in Maryam Abacha Hospital, Sokoto, Sokoto State.” A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was used and simple random sampling technique was used. 86 questionnaires were administered and 6 were missing that’s 79 are retrieved for analysis. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire for knowledge, effects and strategies, data collected were analyzed using frequency distribution table, percentages and statistical mean. The study revealed that majority, 71 (89.9%) of the respondents had a good knowledge of folic acid helps in the prevention of neural tube defect, It also revealed that the respondent’s perceived effect of folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects was impressive as majority had a mean score of 4.30 with an aggregate mean of (4.34). On strategies to improve the utilization of folic acid it revealed that majority 46 (58.2%) of the respondent believe dietary diversification, 53 (67.1%) believe large-scale food fortification with folic acid should be instituted as an effective intervention to reduce the prevalence of neural tube defects and all the respondents had positive attitude towards education campaigns on folic acid supplementation. In conclusion, The findings from this study shows that there is improvement in level of awareness and practice of preconceptional FA supplementation among mothers, the uptake of this important package of care is still low with the most important reason for it being lack of awareness of the care and its' benefits. Recommendations: Application of an educational program to improve perception of pregnant women regarding folic acid intake and Improving awareness and attitude about folic acid intake.