Posted by By Isaac Oguntoye on
The Festus Fajemilo Foundation (FFF), a non-governmental organisation, has held an awareness walk and a lecture on spina bifida and hydrocephalus, diseases which cause a child's head to swell.
The Festus Fajemilo Foundation (FFF), a non-governmental organisation, has held an awareness walk and a lecture on spina bifida and hydrocephalus, diseases which cause a child's head to swell.
The programmes were organised to draw attention to the plight of children suffering from the disease and put a stop to stigmatisation. In his lecture, Dr. Francis Njokama, Provost of LASUCOM, described spina bifida and hydrocephalus as 'a medical condition in which some bones in the spine have not developed normally at birth, causing paralysis, loss of control or feeling of numbness in the legs.'
Njokama emphasised the need for regular checkup of spinal chords, to check for vitamin deficiency which may result in problems associated with the central nervous system.
He identified congenital defects of the spine in which parts of the spinal chords are exposed through a gap in the back bone as the cause of spina bifida. The provost said antenatal care can help minimise the damage. 'Pregnant women in the country are enjoined to go for regular antenatal care for proper health of the foetus in order to guard against malformation of the brain of the unborn baby.'