A new campaign is pushing for pre-natal supplements to be provided free of charge to pregnant women in Australia, after it was revealed that many can’t afford them.
Pre-natal supplements don’t come cheap – a 100-tablet pack of Elevit Pregnancy Multivitamin retails for $60, while Blackmores Pregnancy & Breastfeeding Gold can cost $65 for 180 capsules.
Doctors recommend pregnant women take a pregnancy supplement containing folic acid daily throughout their pregnancy (and for up to three months before conception) as it is clinically shown to reduce the risk of spina bifida.
That’s why the McKell Institute is calling for the government to make the supplements free for pregnant women holding concession cards.
“25 per cent of doctors have reported patients who are not filling the scripts they need to because of affordability,” McKell Institute’s Sam Crosby told 7 News. “When you’re looking to buy a cot, a pram, a crib, a car seat, everything else is a real impost.”
As Yahoo7 reports, the British government already has a similar system in place.
