Spina bifida is a congenital malformation characterized by an incomplete closure of the neural tube by the end of the end of the first month of the embryo’s life and onwards. This also leads to the incomplete closure of the last vertebrae of the baby.

This condition is caused mainly by the mother’s deficiency in folic acid, during the first three months. Folic acid deficiency may also be caused by a condition where the mother doesn’t properly process the vital nutrient. However, there is 5% of spina bifida cases develop even when there is no deficiency. With these cases, the cause is generally unknown.

Spina bifida is not a hereditary condition. Instead, the mother can pass down her difficulty to process folic acid to her offspring, which happens rarely. This means that a person that was born with spina bifida doesn’t necessarily have an increased risk of bearing children with the same condition.

There are three main types of spina bifida:

Myelomeningocele

This is the most common and serious type of spina bifida. It is characterized by a sack protruding from the baby’s back, which contains part of the spinal cord and nerves. These nerves are usually damaged, which may cause a wide range of symptoms, including incontinence and difficulties to move the legs and feet.

Meningocele

Similar to myelomeningocele, this type of spina bifida is also characterized by a sack protruding from the baby’s back. However, the sack does not contain a part of the spinal cord, and the nerve damage is only minimal. For this reason, meningocele rarely causes any lasting disabilities.

Spina Bifida Occulta

This type of spina bifida may go undetected throughout the patient’s infant life because it doesn’t create any physical symptoms, nor a protruding sack. It is characterized by a small gap or opening in one or more vertebrae. They could even manifest a lipoma, dimple, localized villosity, dark stain, or small protuberance on the affected zone. Nevertheless, neither the spinal cord or nerves are damaged in this case.

Most people who suffer from this type of spina bifida don’t manifest symptoms until later on in their lives. The most common of these are weakness in the lower extremities, atrophy of a leg or foot, loss of sensation, or alteration of the reflexes. The patient could also develop issues in urine retention, as well as urinary and fecal incontinences. Lastly, they could suffer deformities in their feet as a result of their condition.

Treatment

Spina bifida is incurable and must be managed throughout the patient’s entire life. However, the first two types of this disease require surgery to put the sack and nerves back in place, as well as to close the opening over the vertebrae. In some cases, it might be necessary to extract some of the exposed nerves. This procedure can be performed shortly after birth, as well as through a prenatal variant, while the baby is still in the womb.

Nevertheless, even after performing all the necessary surgeries, some symptoms and disabilities can still remain. The physician must assess and manage them through several means, including additional surgeries, with drugs, physical therapy and rehabilitation, and walking aids. Incontinence and partial paralysis is also a likely outcome in later years, which will remain throughout a patient’s life.

In children, doctors must carefully examine the patient’s development as they grow in order to detect disabilities. Furthermore, they may also issue treatment and physical therapy to prevent some symptoms from appearing. By the time the patient reaches adulthood, most of their symptoms and disabilities will have manifested. At this point, the patient will be aware of the coping mechanisms for their specific condition, as well as the tools at their disposal to aid their symptoms, such as walking aids. In most cases, those with this disease can grow to have full, independent lives.

Prevention

While spina bifida cannot be treated, it can be prevented. This disease occurs very early during pregnancy, so it could be too late to prevent once the baby has been conceived. However, if looking to get pregnant, the patient could help prevent spina bifida in the baby by taking folic acid supplements as indicated by their doctor, as well as adding leafy greens, nuts, beans, and other foods that contain this substance into their diet.

Furthermore, if suffering from certain chronic conditions, such as diabetes, the patient must maintain regular checkups with her doctor to ensure that her condition is under control before trying to conceive. Lastly, the patient must avoid becoming overheated during pregnancy as this will increase the likelihood of the baby developing spina bifida, among other things. In this sense, she must avoid saunas and hot tubs, and take immediate measures if suffering from a fever while pregnant.