Women's awareness and periconceptional use of folic acid: data from a large European survey.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the awareness and use of folic acid in European women of child-bearing age, particularly in the setting of pregnancy and pregnancy planning. METHODS: Between November 2009 and December 2009, women aged 15-49 years old from 18 European countries completed a 30-minute structured questionnaire either online or via face-to-face interviews. To achieve nationally representative samples for each country quotas were set for age, education, income, and regional distribution. RESULTS: A total of 22,925 women participated in the survey. Of the respondents, 58% had at least one biological child, and of these 38% reported that their first pregnancy was not planned. Nearly 60% of women who planned their pregnancy indicated that they had stopped using their method of contraception without first consulting a doctor or another health care professional. Overall, 70% reported that they had heard of folic acid and 40% stated that they knew the benefits of folic acid. However, when prompted to indicate which diseases and/or birth defects folic acid can protect against, only 17% knew that folic acid can reduce the risk of neural tube defects/spina bifida. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of European women of child-bearing age in this survey were unaware that periconceptional folic acid supplementation reduces the risk of birth defects.

Women's attitudes towards monthly bleeding: results of a global population-based survey.

OBJECTIVE: Monthly bleeding can be uncomfortable and inconvenient. Fifty years after the introduction of the pill, one wonders whether women still want to bleed every month. METHODS: Cross-national online survey of women aged 15-49 years (N = 4039) who were currently using, had used or would consider using a hormonal contraceptive. The survey was conducted in eight countries across Europe, North America and Latin America to assess attitudes towards monthly bleeding. RESULTS: Almost one-third of women reported that bleeding had a severe negative impact on their daily life, particularly with respect to sexual life and sports activities. Approximately 60% of women would, at least sometimes, like to postpone their bleeding and 50% wished they had the flexibility to determine when their menstrual bleeding starts. Overall, 34% of women would change the frequency of their bleeding to once every two or three months. CONCLUSIONS: Past, current or future users of hormonal contraception reported that bleeding has a severe negative impact on daily life. Given the choice, most women surveyed would reduce the frequency of their bleeding.