1. Oakley GP Jr. Folic acid preventable spina bifida and anencephaly. JAMA 1993; 269: 1292-93.
2. Pearce HR, Smith NA, Fox EF, Bingham JS. Periconceptional folic acid: knowledge amongst patients and health care workers in a London teaching hospital. Bri J Fam Plann 1996; 22: 20-21.
3. Forman R, Singal N, Perelman V, et al. Folic acid and prevention of neural tube defects: a study of Canadian mothers of infants with spina bifida. Clin Invest Med 1996; 19: 195-201.
4. Morin VI, Mondor M, Wilson RD. Knowledge on periconceptional use of folic acid in women of British Columbia. Fetal Diagn Ther 2001; 16: 111-15.
5. Perelman V, Singal N, Einarson A, et al. Knowledge and practice by Canadian family physicians regarding periconceptional folic acid supplementation for the prevention of neural tube defects. Can J Clin Pharmacol 1996; 3: 145-8.
6. Koren G. Periconception folic acid supplementation. Can Fam Physician 1997; 43: 851-52.
7. Gallup Poll. Gallup Organization/ March of Dimes: Preparing for pregnancy II. March of Dimes, Birth Defects Foundation, 1997.
8. Health Canada. Summary report: National Workshop on the Primary Prevention of Neural Tube Defects. December, 1995.
9. Health Canada. Nutrition for a healthy pregnancy: national guidelines for the childbearing years. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 1999.
10. Health Canada. Canada's food guide to healthy eating.
11. Wilson RD, Van Allen MI. The use of folic acid for prevention of neural tube defects. J Soc Obstet Gynaecol Can 1993; 15 (March suppl): 41-6.
12. Van Allen MI, Fraser FC, Dallaire L, et al. Recommendations on the use of folic acid supplementation to prevent the recurrence of neural tube defects. Can Med Assoc J 1993; 149: 1239-43.
13. Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) Statement. Periconceptional use of folic acid for reduction of the risk of neural tube defects. Paediatr Child Health 1997; 2: 152-54.
14. CTFPHE (Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination). Periodic health examination, 1994 update: 3. Primary and secondary prevention of neural tube defects. Can Med Assoc J 1994; 151: 159-66.
15. Liu S, Joseph KS, Kramer MS, Allen AC, Sauve R, Rusen ID, Wen SW for the Fetal and Infant Health Study Group of the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System. Relationship of prenatal diagnosis and pregnancy termination to overall infant mortality in Canada. JAMA 2002 (in press).
16. Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) Statement. The child with multiple impairments. Paediatr Child Health 2000; 5: 397-402.
17. Shurtleff DB, Luthy DA, Nyberg DA, et al. Meningomyelocele: management in utero and post natum. Ciba Found Symp 1994; 181: 270-86.
18. Little J, Elwood JM, eds. Epidemiology and control of neural tube defects. Vol 20 of Monograph in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1992.
19. Health Canada. Canadian perinatal health report 2000. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2000.
20. Baird PA. Neural tube defects in the Sikhs. Am J Med Genet 1983; 16: 49-56.
21. Hall JG, Friedman JM, Kenna BA et al. Clinical, genetic, and epidemiological factors in neural tube defects. Am J Hum Genet 1988; 43: 827-37.
22. Chambers K, Popkin J, Arnold W, et al. Neural tube defects in British Columbia. Lancet 1994; 343: 489-90.
23. Berry RJ, Li Z, Erickson JD, et al. Preventing neuraltube defects with folic acid in China. N Engl J Med 1999; 341: 1485-90.
24. Hunt GM. The median survival time in open spina bifida. Dev Med Child Neurol 1997; 39: 568.
25. Cochrane DD, Wilson RD, Steinbok P, et al. Prenatal spinal evaluation and functional outcome of patients born with myelomeningocele: information for improved prenatal counselling and outcome prediction. Fetal Diagn Ther 1996; 11: 159-68.
26. Zurmohle UM, Homann T, Schroeter C et al. Psychosocial adjustment of children with spina bifida. J Child Neurol 1998; 13( 2): 64-70.
27. Date I, Yagyu Y, Asari S, Ohmoto T. Longterm outcome in surgically treated spina bifida cystica. Surg Neurol 1993; 40: 471-5.
28. Rauen KK, Aubert EJ. A brighter future for adults who have myelomeningocele – one form of spina bifida. Orthop Nurs 1992; 11( 3): 16-26.
29. Tosi LL, Detsky AS, Roye DP, Morden ML. When does mass screening for open neural tube defects in low-risk pregnancies result in cost savings? Can Med Assoc J 1987; 136: 255-65.
30. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Economic burden of spina bifida – United States 1980– 1990. MMWR 1989; 38: 2664-67.
31. Waltzman NJ, Romano PS, Scheffler RM. Estimates of the economic costs of birth defects Inquiry 1994; 31: 188-205.
32. Wasserman CR, Shaw GM, Selvin S, et al. Socioeconomic status, neighborhood social conditions, and neural tube defects. Am J Public Health 1998; 88: 1674-80.
33. Czeizel AE. Reduction of urinary tract and cardiovascular defects by periconceptional multivitamin supplementation. Am J Med Genet 1996; 62: 179-83.
34. Shaw GM, O'Malley CD, Wasserman CR, et al. Maternal periconceptional use of multivitamins and reduced risk for conotruncal heart defects and limb deficiencies among offspring. Am J Med Genet 1995; 59: 536-45.
35. Botto LD, Moore CA, Khoury MJ, Erickson JD. Medical progress: neural-tube defects. N Engl J Med 1999; 341: 1509-19.
36. Li D-K, Daling JR, Mueller BA. Periconceptional multivitamin use in relation to the risk of congenital urinary tract anomalies. Epidemiology 1995; 6: 212-18.
37. Hayes C, Werler MM, Willett WC, et al. Case-control study of periconceptional folic acid supplementation and oral clefts. Am J Epidemiol 1996; 143: 1229-34.
38. Tolarova M, Harris J. Reduced recurrence of orofacial clefts after periconceptional supplementation with high-dose folic acid and multivitamins. Teratology 1995; 51: 71-8.
39. Willett WC and Stampfer MJ. What vitamins should I be taking, doctor? N Engl J Med 2001; 345: 1819-24.
40. Bailey LB, Moyers S, Gregory JF III. Folate, Chapter 21, in Present knowledge in nutrition. 8th edition, eds. BA Bowman and RM Russell, Washington, DC: ILSI Press, 2001.
41. Teratology Society. Teratology Society position paper: recommendations for vitamin use during pregnancy. Teratology 1987; 35: 269-75.
42. Lindenbaum J, Irwin H. Rosenberg, Peter WF Wilson, Sally P. Stabler, and Robert H. Allen. Prevalence of cobalamin deficiency in the Framingham elderly population, Am J Clin Nutr 1994; 60: 2-11.
43. Health Canada. Family-centred maternity and newborn care: national guidelines. 4 th edition. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2000.
44. Becerra JE, Khoury MJ, Cordero JF, Erickson JD. Diabetes mellitus during pregnancy and the risks for specific birth defects: a population-based case-control study. Pediatrics 1990; 85: 1-9.
45. Werler MM, Shapiro S, Mitchell AA. Prepregnant weight in relation to risk of occurrent neural tube defects. JAMA 1996; 275: 1089-92.
46. Watkins ML, Scanlon KS, Mulinare J, Khoury MJ. Is maternal obesity a risk factor for anencephaly and spina bifida? Epidemiology 1996; 7: 507-12.
47. Waller DK, Mills JL, Simpson JL, et al. Are obese women at higher risk for producing malformed off-spring? Am J Obstet Gynecol 1994; 170: 541-8.
48. Kirke PN, Molloy AM, Daly LE, Burke H, Weir DG, Scott JM. 1993. Maternal plasma folate and vitamin B12 are independent risk factors for neural tube defects. Quart J Med 86: 703-708.
49. Van Allen MI, Kalousek DK, Chernoff GF, et al. Evidence for multi-site closure of the neural tube in humans. Am J Med Genetics 1993; 47: 723-43.
50. MRC Vitamin Study Research Group. Prevention of neural tube defects: results of the Medical Research Council vitamin study. Lancet 1991; 338: 131-7.
51. Alberta Health and Wellness. Alberta Congenital Anomalies Surveillance System, 5 th report, 1980-98. Alberta Health and Wellness, December 2001.
52. National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes. Approved draft report on folate, other B vitamins and choline. Washington, D. C.: Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, 1998.
53. Honein MA, Paulozzi LJ, Mathews TJ, Erickson JD, Wong L-Y C. Impact of folic acid fortification of the US food supply on the occurrence of neural tube defects. JAMA 2001; 285: 2981-86.
54. Lumley J, Watson L, Watson M, Bower C. Modelling the potential impact of population-wide periconceptional folate/ multivitamin supplementation on multiple births. Brit J Obst Gynaecol 2001; 108: 937-42.
55. Wang H, Berry BJ, Li Z, Gindler J, Correa A, Wong LY, Wang Y. Multiple births among women who took folic acid during early pregnancy – Sino-U. S. NTD Project. Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research. 14 th Annual Meeting, June 12-13, 2001. Page 11 (abstract).
56. Laurence KM, James N, Miller MH, et al. Double-blind randomised controlled trial of folate treatment before conception to prevent recurrence of neural-tube defects. BMJ 1981; 282: 1509-11.
57. Smithells RW, Nevin NC, Seller MJ, et al. Further experience of vitamin supplementation for prevention of neural tube defect recurrences. Lancet 1983; 1: 1027-31.
58. Mulinare J, Cordero JF, Erickson JD, Berry RJ. Periconceptional use of multivitamins and the occurrence of neural tube defects. JAMA 1988; 260: 3141-5.
59. Bower C, Stanley FJ. Dietary folate as a risk factor for neuraltube defects: evidence from a case-control study in western Australia. Med J Aust 1989; 150: 613-9.
60. Mills JL, Rhoads GG, Simpson JL, et al. The absence of a relation between the periconceptional use of vitamins and neural-tube defects. N Engl J Med 1989; 321: 430-5.
61. Milunsky A, Jick H, Jick SS, et al. Multivitamin/ folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy reduces the prevalence of neural tube defects. JAMA 1989; 262: 2847-52.
62. Vergel RG, Sanchez LR, Heredero BL, et al. Primary prevention of neural tube defects with folic acid supplementation: Cuban experience. Prenat Diagn 1990; 10: 149-52.
63. Czeizel AE, Dudas I. Prevention of the first occurrence of neural-tube defects by periconceptional vitamin supplementation. N Engl J Med 1992; 327: 1832-5.
64. Kirke PN, Daly LE, Elwood JH. A randomized trial of low-dose folic acid to prevent neural tube defects. Arch Dis Child 1992; 67: 1442-46.
65. Werler MM, Shapiro S, Mitchell AA. Periconceptional folic acid exposure and risk of occurrent neural tube defects. JAMA 1993; 269: 1257-61.
66. Shaw GM, Schaffer D, Velie EM, et al. Periconceptional vitamin use, dietary folate, and the occurrence of neural tube defects. Epidemiology 1995; 6: 219-26.