BONTOC, Mountain Province – From January to October 2022, five infants born at home and in birthing clinics were tested for disorders.
This includes two in Barangay Can-eo, and one each in barangays Bontoc Ili, Caluttit, and Gonogon.
According to Nurse IV Jessica Lyn Patingan of the Municipal Health Office, none of the five infants showed disorders in the newborn screening.
Newborn screening is an essential public health strategy that enables early detection and management of several congenital disorders, which if left untreated, may lead to mental retardation and/or death.
Early diagnosis and initiation of treatment, along with appropriate long-term care help, ensure normal growth and development of the affected individual. It 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.
Mayor Jerome Tudlong emphasized the importance of protecting children’s health and the vulnerable sector in the community.
He added newborn screening is one way of safeguarding the children’s rights for quality healthcare Ordinance 310, s. 2018 mandates the local government to subsidize the cost of newborn screening infants born outside hospitals. – Christy Mae Che-es
