Take 3

Greetings!!

GenetAssist is happy to announce that we are returning to Guatemala for another year! Although our blog has been silent for the better part of this past year, the team has been hard at work preparing for our trip.

You may remember that we met with the Ministry of Health last year while in Guatemala, and discussed the idea of creating a national folic acid awareness campaign. Well, that campaign has become a reality! We have created a pamphlet and poster meant to emphasize the importance and benefits of folic acid, along with where to find it, when to take it, and other important factors for a healthy pregnancy. A lot of work has gone into the campaign to ensure that it is culturally sensitive, while at the same time, attempting to debunk certain cultural myths surrounding folic acid (ex: folic acid has negative side effects, such as making babies too large).

Once again we will be working with the amazing Dr. Marta Julia Ruiz while in Guatemala. Our main focus is to distribute pamphlets/posters around rural and urban Guatemala, and educate clinics and providers distributing/recommending folic acid about the campaign and its importance. Our educational materials will contain a link to a page on our website, dedicated to the campaign (coming soon!). On this page, women can learn more about folic acid (in Spanish), and providers can access additional copies of the pamphlet.

There is a lot more information to come, so stay tuned! We will be travelling to Guatemala from March 16-23^rd, and updating the blog daily as always. We’re really excited about this year’s project, and we hope you will be too.