DOH, LGUs join hands in nutrition program

In an unprecedented bid to save mothers from unhealthy pregnancy, the Department of Health has tapped local government units (LGUs) in selected areas around the country for the distribution of food supplements and the implementation of a nutrition program for that purpose.

This developed after a DOH study determined that malnutrition was among the major causes of pregnancy-related deaths.

The DOH has identified three critical micronutrients – Vitamin A, iron and iodine — that mothers need to keep themselves and their babies healthy and help ensure safe delivery.

At least P68 million worth of these micronutrients have been distributed to selected LGUs nationwide for distribution to their constituents.

The staffers of the DOH and the LGUs also teach them how to avail themselves of these nutrients from inexpensive sources such as fruits and vegetables, which they can raise in their backyards.

At the same time, the DOH is implementing Republic Act 8976 establishing the Philippine Food Fortification Program.

RA 8976 mandates the fortification of imported and locally processed foods with all the necessary nutrients at sufficient levels. Thus, food products with the DOH Sangkap Pinoy seal are guaranteed to have been properly fortified with the required nutrients, especially Vitamin A, iron and iodine.

Vitamin A makes mothers maintain clear eyesight and healthy teeth, bones, muscles, hair and skin. But the mother’s normal supply of this vitamin is used up by the growing baby during her pregnancy or lactation. Extreme deficiency of this vitamin will affect both the mother and the baby, according to Health Undersecretary Antonio Lopez.

"The same is true with iron, from which deficiency some 44 percent of women suffer. This condition, called anemia, makes pregnant women weak and sickly, putting their pregnancy and delivery at risk," Lopez said.

To prevent that condition, pregnant women must have 30 milligrams of iron a day, while nursing and non-pregnant mothers at least 15 mg.

Also necessary to keep mothers healthy is iodine, which promotes the normal production of thyroid hormones that control the rate of heartbeat, food digestion, use of energy and other functions of the body.

"Iodine deficiency can therefore impair the production of those hormones and result in abnormal physiological functioning, hyperthyroidism or goiter, and cause permanent mental and physical damage, even death, to the baby. As such, women with goiter must see a doctor immediately," Health Undersecretary Alexander Padilla said.

"Moreover, extreme lack of iodine can cause cretinism, a disorder among children, characterized by mental retardation, stunted growth, speech impairment and deafness," Padilla added.

About a quarter of Filipino women suffer from iodine deficiency. This means that one-fourth of the total number of babies conceived face the risk of death or being born with mental or other physical defects.

Thus, nutritional support has become a strategic component of the DOH’s Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood Program (WHSMP).