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Giving birth to a child with a neural tube defect (NTD) is a painful challenge to many parents and to their children. NTDs are among the most common of all serious birth defects. Fortunately, you can decrease the chance that your baby will be born with this type of birth defect.
The neural tube is the part of a fetus that becomes the spinal cord. In the first few weeks of pregnancy, the neural tube is open and then it closes to form the spinal cord. A NTD occurs when the spine does not close properly. There are two types of NTD: anencephaly and spina bifida. A baby with anencephaly does not develop a brain. These children are either stillborn, or die shortly after birth. Spina bifida occurs when there is an opening of the spine. Usually surgery is required to close the opening. Disabilities vary from mild curvature of the spine to paralyzed legs and lack of bowel and bladder control.
About 30% of people with spina bifida have slight to severe mental retardation. Of pregnancies affected by NTDs, 75% of fetuses are stillborn or miscarried, and 25% are born with a handicap. Because the spinal cord forms so early in pregnancy, many women are not even aware that they are pregnant while this process takes place.
Studies have shown that people are at an increased risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect if they:
— are Caucasians (especially of English or Irish ancestry)
— do not eat well balanced diets
— have already had a baby with a NTD
— have low folic acid intake before becoming pregnant or in early pregnancy
Studies have also shown that supplementing your folic acid (a B vitamin) before conception and in the early weeks of pregnancy can greatly reduce the risk of giving birth to a baby with a NTD. In fact, by simply taking a daily multivitamin with 0.4 mg folic acid you can reduce your baby's risk of spina bifida by 50%.
Because of the role of folic acid in preventing NTDs, the FDA began to add folic acid to processed grain products in 1998. This change and the increasing use of folic acid supplements were reflected in a drop of the occurrence of NTDs from 13 in every 10,000 live births in 1970 to 6 in every 10,000 live births in the year 2000.
However, there is still room for improvement. Since the benefits of folic acid begin before conception and are most significant before women may be aware of the pregnancy, every woman of child bearing potential should be supplementing her folic acid intake. Foods that are sources of folic acid are:
— dark green leafy vegetables, peas, corn, and dried beans
— bread and fortified cereals
— beef and beef liver
— bananas and orange juice
Diet alone often does not provide an adequate amount of folic acid. The CDC recommends that all women of childbearing age take a daily supplement of 0.4 mg (400 mcg) of folic acid. This is available in most over-the-counter multivitamins. By taking a multivitamin containing folic acid daily and encouraging our friends and teenage daughters take theirs, we can continue to decrease the incidence of this serious birth defect.
