JAN.

30, 2012 DATE

NR # 2664
REF. NO.

Bill promoting folic acid to prevent birth defects passed

The House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a bill that seeks to promote the importance of folic acid in the prevention of birth defects. House Bill 592, authored by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro), provides for a national folic acid education campaign to raise the level of awareness among women of childbearing age and health professionals on the importance of folic acid at preventing birth defects. Rodriguez said the campaign will include encouraging women of reproductive capacity to consume daily, enough amount of folic acid, which is a B vitamin found naturally in food such as green leafy vegetables, beans, citrus fruits and juices and in certain multivitamins capsules. Folic acid could prevent neutral tube defects if all women of childbearing age begin consuming 400 micrograms of it daily, and even before pregnancy, according to Rodriguez. Aside from the prevention of neutral tube defects, a new study finds that women who take folic acid supplements early in their pregnancy can also substantially reduce their babys chances of being born with a cleft lip, cleft palate or both, Rodriguez added. Rodriguez said thousands of infants each year are born with serious birth defects in the brain and spine, called neutral tube defects. The most common of these is spin bifida, the incomplete closure of the spinal column and anencephaly, a fatal condition in which an infant is born with a severely underdeveloped brain and skull. Once enacted into law, the measure will ensure that many women would be educated and aware of the opportunity for prevention and begin consuming the recommended daily amount of folic acid that would help avoid the development of defects in their babies, Rodriguez said. The bill also mandates the Department of Health to carry out the program, directly or through special arrangements with other government agencies and other promotional entities engaged in public information activities to provide education and training for health professionals and the general public, and to explain the effects of folic acid in preventing birth defects. Co-authors of the bill are Reps. Maximo Rodriguez (Party-list, Abante Mindanao), and Augusto Syjuco (2nd District, Iloilo), Alfredo Maranon (2nd District, Negros Occidental), Ben Evardone (Lone District, Eastern Samar), Marcelino Teodoro (1st District, Marikina City), and Bernadette Herrera-Dy (Party-list, Bagong Henerasyon). (30) sb