Full Text of HR0450 95th General Assembly
HR0450 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR0450 |
|
LRB095 12227 KXB 36599 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, Birth defects are the leading cause of infant | 3 |
| mortality in the United States; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, 2,500 babies are born each year in the United | 5 |
| States with a neural tube defect such as anencephaly or spina | 6 |
| bifida; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, Anencephaly is a fatal condition in which a baby | 8 |
| is born with a severely underdeveloped brain and skull; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Spina bifida affects the backbone and, sometimes, | 10 |
| the spinal cord, and children with the severe form of spina | 11 |
| bifida have some degree of leg paralysis and bladder and bowel | 12 |
| control problems; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Sufficient amounts of folic acid, a B vitamin, in | 14 |
| a woman's diet before and during pregnancy can reduce the risk | 15 |
| of neural tube defect; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, Studies have shown that up to 70 percent of these | 17 |
| cases could be prevented if women consumed at least 400 | 18 |
| micrograms of folic acid before they become pregnant and during | 19 |
| early pregnancy; and |
|
|
|
HR0450 |
- 2 - |
LRB095 12227 KXB 36599 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, In accordance with the United States Public Health | 2 |
| Service and Institute of Medicine, the March of Dimes suggests | 3 |
| that all women of child bearing age consume a multi-vitamin | 4 |
| containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily as part of a | 5 |
| healthy diet; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, Although 84 percent of women of childbearing age | 7 |
| have heard of folic acid, only 33 percent take a multi-vitamin | 8 |
| and only 7 percent know it should be taken before pregnancy; | 9 |
| and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, Studies suggest that folic acid may help prevent | 11 |
| some other birth defects, including cleft lip and palate and | 12 |
| birth defects involving the heart and limbs and also may help | 13 |
| prevent heart disease and stroke; therefore, be it
| 14 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 16 |
| urge all regional Superintendents of Schools in the State of | 17 |
| Illinois to distribute information to schools in their region | 18 |
| on the importance of folic acid; and be it further
| 19 |
| RESOLVED, That the Regional Superintendents of Schools | 20 |
| distribute information that indicates the March of Dimes, whose | 21 |
| website is www.marchofdimes.com, and the Center for Disease | 22 |
| Control (CDC), whose website is www.cdc.gov, as resources for |
|
|
|
HR0450 |
- 3 - |
LRB095 12227 KXB 36599 r |
|
| 1 |
| free material, literature, and model lesson plans on Folic Acid | 2 |
| and proper nutrition; and be it further | 3 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 |
| delivered to each Regional Superintendent of Schools in the | 5 |
| State of Illinois.
|
|