The so-called neural tube defect means the embryo's nerves do not develop properly and taking vitamin B has been found to be the best defence available so far.

Mothers were told to take supplements of folic acid, a kind of vitamin B, every day from the time they decided to have a baby until the third month of pregnancy.

Researchers from China and the US found that by taking 0.4 milligrams folic acid daily, the number of cases of the disorder was reduced by 70 percent.

Statistics from the center show that each year, throughout the world, 300,000 to 400,000 babies are born with the defect. China has the highest number of cases, with 80,000 to 100,000 a year.

Neural tube defects account for one-third of all birth defects in China. Affected babies are born with no brain or with an exposed spine. Most are born dead or die within a year and the few survivors are usually disabled.

A study of diets of pregnant Chinese women conducted by Beijing Medical University found that an average of 30 percent of them at a reproductive age suffer from folic acid deficiency. The proportion is higher in the northern and rural areas than in the southern and urban regions.

Health researchers found out that an ancient Chinese tradition of "winter marriage" closely followed by childbirth was a factor in the disorder. They realized the defect occurred during the woman's pregnancy in the winter when there was a shortage of green vegetables and fruit rich in folic acid, now known as being essential to an embryo's healthy development.

In an effort to save as many as 80,000 Chinese babies from being born with fatal birth defects each year, a unique research project into neural tube defects was started in 1990 by the US Center for Diseases Control, the Chinese Ministry of Health and Beijing Medical University.

After years of research and experiments, the experts now believe that controlling neural tube defects with moderate dosages of folic acid is, so far, the best way to prevent those defects.

In 1993, the Ministry of Health designated the method one of the 10 best medical techniques to be introduced in China's vast rural areas.

The Chinese Ministry of Health and the State Family Planning Commission expect to spread the research results throughout the country as soon as possible so that more babies are born without defects. To this end, in 1997, the Ministry of Health approved the production of a special folic acid supplement called "SCRIANEN." It is being made by the pharmaceutical factory of Beijing Medical University.

Already more than 2 million new brides and pregnant women in 411 counties in 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have taken such birth defect prevention measures since 1998.

To make people more confident in "SCRIANEN," the National Center for Maternal and Infant Health, the pharmaceutical factory of Beijing Medical University and the People's Insurance Company of China will pay compensation to any woman taking folic acid whose baby is born with the defect.

(China Daily)