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BY DIADEM KEE PADERES
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Friday, October 20, 2017
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ILOILO City – Babies may look normal at birth but don’t be deceived; they may have inborn metabolism disorders.
The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas is thus urging parents to have their babies undergo newborn screening within 24 hours after birth.
Newborn screening enables the early detection and management of several congenital metabolic disorders which, if left untreated, may lead to mental retardation or even death.
Under Republic Act 9299 or the Newborn Screening Act of 2004, any health practitioner who delivers, or assists in the delivery, of a newborn shall, prior to delivery, inform the parents or legal guardian of the newborn of the availability, nature and benefits of newborn screening.
Early diagnosis and initiation of treatment, along with appropriate long-term care, help ensure normal growth and development of the affected individual, stressed DOH.
Under the law, a parent or legal guardian may refuse testing on the grounds of religious beliefs but shall acknowledge in writing their understanding that refusal for testing places their newborn at risk for undiagnosed heritable conditions.
According to Dr. Renilyn Reyes of DOH Region 6, routine newborn screening can detect the following disorders: Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH), Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), Galactosemia (GAL), Phenylketonuria (PKU), Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD), and Glucose-6-Phospate-Dehydrogenase Deficiency (G6PD Def). .
The expanded newborn screening, on the other hand, can screen 28 disorders.
The aim of newborn screening is to prevent and reduce developmental delays in babies, poor motor development, and other serious diseases, said Reyes.
Newborn screening has been an integral part of routine newborn care in most developed countries for five decades, either as a health directive or mandated by law.
In the Philippines, it is a service available since 1996.
DOH hoped that by year 2025, all Filipino newborns are screened for the more common and life-threatening congenital metabolic disorders./PN
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