§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, (1) pursuant to her answer of 17 December 1992,Official Report, column 420, what steps she is taking to ensure that women at risk of bearing children with neural tube defects are aware of the benefits which would accrue from taking a daily dietary supplement of folic acid;
(2) when the potential benefits of dietary supplementation with folic acid by women at risk of bearing children with neural tube defects were first drawn to her or her predecessor's attention.
§ Mr. SackvilleIt was not until July 1991, when the first results of a Medical Research Council study were published, that it was concluded that a daily dietary supplement of folic acid could significantly reduce the risk of recurrence of neural tube defects.
Guidance was issued at once to doctors, senior nurses, midwives and health visitors. The subsequent 1992 report of the Chief Medical Officer's Expert Advisory Group endorsed the earlier guidance and extended it to include also women with no history of neural tube defects. There has been widespread publicity and action is in hand to ensure the public are fully aware of this important advice.
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to her answer of 17 December 1992,Official Report, column 420, whether she will consider claims for ex gratia payments from those women who may have delivered or who have had aborted babies suffering from neural tube defects, and who had been given placebos in earlier studies involving folic acid supplementation.
§ Mr. SackvilleWe do not consider that it would be appropriate to make payments to women for not being given a treatment which at the time was unproven.