A neurosurgeon, Dr. Omotayo Ojo, on Friday in Lagos, advised women of child-bearing age to take prescribed amount of folic acid tablets to prevent abnormalities that could arise during pregnancy.
Ojo, who works at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, told the News Agency of Nigeria that folic acid had the potency to develop a baby’s cells and organs properly.
According to him, congenital anomalies are common in Nigeria because women start taking folic acid only after conception.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, describes congenital anomaly as a condition existing at birth and often before birth, or that develops during the first month of life regardless of causation.
Ojo said: “The commonest congenital anomaly in children has to do with neural tube.
“When it happens, it will make the leg to be malformed, affects the heart and the head.
“And where researches have been done, they found out that a tablet of folic acid everyday helps to prevent all this completely.
“Here, it’s common because people only take folic acid when they have been confirmed pregnant.
“But this development takes place at the third week of pregnancy and that is even before the woman knows she’s pregnant.
“So, you can see she has already missed the nourishment.”
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