Physician becomes Prince Albert Citizen of the Year 2007

"She is a physician who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, especially in the advancement of the health of women of Prince Albert and northern Saskatche-wan ... I find it simply amazing that she delivered approximately 270 (babies) in Prince Albert this past year," Ajay Krishan, one of her nominators, wrote in a letter to The Prince Albert Kinsmen Club and the Daily Herald.

Dr. Lalita Malhotra has won Canada's highest civic accolade and counts the 2007 Prince Albert Citizen of the Year as one of her greatest honours.

Last Wednesday she was named the Prince Albert Citizen of the Year by The Prince Albert Kinsmen Club and the Daily Herald.

Malhotra was awarded the Order of Canada in 2006 and the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2001.
But this new honour is very important to Malhotra, who has called Prince Albert home for 32 years.
"This is the biggest honour Prince Albert can give me ... When your own community honours you like this, it is totally different. I am very touched, very emotional."

As an obstetrician, Malhotra is known in the province for delivering an stunning average of 250 babies a year.

"Every baby is a thrill and it keeps me going. I feel every child is a challenge to me and it is a learning experience every day. I have no intention of giving up."

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Higher dose of folic acid could reduce birth defects with 50%

Women planning pregnancy should increase their intake of folic acid as much as possible since it could play a key role in reducing as many as half of certain birth defects, according to new guidelines released Wednesday.

The recommendations were produced for health care professionals by a multidisciplinary panel of experts from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada and Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

Women with no personal health risks, a planned pregnancy and a diet of foods rich in folate should take a multivitamin containing between 0.4 and one milligram of folic acid at least two to three months before conception and throughout pregnancy, the recommendations say.

However, women who are at higher risk, including those who are smokers, obese, diabetic or with previous history of spina bifida in the family should be supplementing their diet with multivitamins containing five milligrams of folic acid, three months prior to and up to 12 weeks following conception.

After the first 12 weeks, in both at-risk and normal pregnancies, women should take a multivitamin containing between 0.4 and one mg of folic acid, and keep taking it as long as breastfeeding continues.

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