KAMPHAENG PHET – The Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Office of Public Health recently convened a meeting to discuss ways to prevent birth defects.
Kamphaeng Phet Deputy Governor Kulada Phantia chaired the meeting at the provincial public health office with local public health officers. The meeting suggested the use of folic acid in women’s diets to prevent physical defects developing during pregnancy.
The meeting also worked out a plan for the year 2018 to further promote the nutritional value of folic acid. The Ministry of Public Health has encouraged women, who are in their reproductive ages, to eat foods that are rich in iron and folate as well as to exercise regularly.
Kamphaeng Phet first launched a birth defect prevention program in February this year. Relevant agencies have been told to educate the public about the benefits of vitamins and folic acid.
Local public health offices are expected to undertake a healthcare program to care for pregnant women and newborns. Females, who are planning to have a baby, are advised to take 200 milligrams of ferrous fumarate and 5 milligrams of folic acid per week for at least 3 months prior to conceiving.
