Health Update: Late 'yes' for folic acid

Women planning to get pregnant can now ask their GPs to prescribe them folic acid supplements in order to reduce their chances of having a baby with spina bifida.

About 800 babies a year are born with the condition. Many end up in institutional care. A committee appointed by the Government reported as long ago as December 1992 that such supplements would be a useful preventive measure, but only recently has the Department of Health made them available on prescription.