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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

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Published on: June 28, 2024

Folic acid supplementation does not decrease stillbirths and congenital malformations in a guide dog colony.

K L Gonzales¹, T R Famula², L C Feng¹

¹Guide Dogs for the Blind, San Rafael, California, 94903, USA.

The Journal of Small Animal Practice

|January 26, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Maternal folic acid supplementation did not reduce cleft palates, umbilical hernias, stillbirths, or caesarean sections in guide dogs. This 5 mg dosage is unlikely to significantly improve these conditions in dog populations with low hereditary malformation rates.

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Area of Science:

Veterinary Medicine
Canine Reproduction
Public Health

Background:

Folic acid supplementation is known to prevent neural tube defects in humans.
Its efficacy in preventing other congenital malformations in dogs is less understood.
Guide dog breeding programs aim to minimize congenital abnormalities.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the effect of maternal folic acid supplementation on specific congenital malformations and pregnancy outcomes in a guide dog breeding colony.
To determine if a 5 mg daily dosage of folic acid reduces the incidence of cleft palates, umbilical hernias, stillbirths, and caesarean sections.

Main Methods:

A cohort study involving Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and their crosses in a guide dog breeding colony.
Dams in the treatment group (n=137) received 5 mg oral folic acid daily from pro-oestrous to day 40 of gestation.
A historical control group (n=134) from the previous year was used for comparison, with logistic regression analyzing disease risks.

Main Results:

A total of 1917 puppies were analyzed (890 control, 1027 treatment).
No significant differences were found in the incidence rates of cleft palate (2.25% vs 2.34%), umbilical hernias (1.91% vs 3.12%), stillbirths (3.26% vs 2.92%), or caesarean sections (1.45% vs 1.28%) between the folic acid supplemented and control groups.
Statistical analysis indicated that the relative risk for all outcomes included 1.0, failing to detect significant differences.

Conclusions:

Maternal folic acid supplementation at 5 mg daily did not demonstrate a reduction in cleft palates, umbilical hernias, stillbirths, or caesarean sections in this guide dog breeding colony.
In dog populations with a low predisposition to hereditary malformations, this dosage of folic acid is unlikely to significantly prevent or eradicate these conditions.