Is prenatal folate really a big deal? I mean, we've all been told that women who are planning a family should be taking plenty of the nutrient, but is that really true?

Well..of course it is.

But if you rely on the reporting of a recent study out of Norway, you'll probably come away with the opposite opinion.

The study is being billed as one of the most comprehensive to date. After assessing the conditions of more than 19,000 births, researchers determined that folate intake from six months before pregnancy through the beginning of the third trimester is not significantly related to spontaneous preterm delivery.

That timeframe is one of the major limitations of the study. Previous studies that have found folate supplementation to decrease the risk of premature birth have looked at folate intake for a year before pregnancy -- twice as long as this study.

And really, if you ask me, the reporting on this study is just a tad irresponsible.

First, let's look at the headlines: "Study finds no link between folate intake and preterm birth." "Folate may not protect against preterm birth." "Folate does not offer protection against preterm birth, study suggests."

And that's in the more science-oriented news outlets. I can only imagine the trickledown to major mainstream news sources: "Are pregnant women wasting money with folate?"

So why do I say the reporting is irresponsible? Because there's absolutely no mention of another critical reason for prenatal folate. Whether or not folate protects against preterm birth -- remember, the study is in contradiction to others that say it does -- folate plays a critical role in the prevention of birth defects.

As Dr. Wright wrote in the June 2010 issue of Nutrition & Healing, there are three key nutrients for keeping cell division normal -- folate, vitamin B12, and zinc. If there's a shortage of any of these, the risk of birth defects is greater. There's a test called the "neutrophilic hypersegmentation index" (NHI) that tells if you have enough folate. Dr. Wright shared one of the saddest test reports he's ever had to give -- a low NHI result to a woman who was already pregnant. Her baby was, in fact, born with a birth defect.

He recommends that any woman who has any chance of becoming pregnant should have the test done -- and if she wants to start a family and the results are abnormal, she should take a series of folinic acid injections. The most common birth defect -- neural tube defect -- occurs less than 30 days after conception, before many women are even sure they're pregnant.

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