Spina bifida is a spinal cord defect that develops when a baby's spinal cord is forming during the first month of pregnancy. An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 babies are born each year with spina bifida, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Research shows that if you regularly take a folic acid supplement, your unborn child's chances of developing spina bifida fall dramatically, but there are additional risk factors for spina bifida besides a deficiency in your folic acid levels.
Spina Bifida
Your child's spina bifida probably developed before the 28th day of your pregnancy. An area called the neural tube, the covering of your baby's spinal cord, failed to close completely. In serious spina bifida cases, a fluid-filled sac appears on the baby's back, which sometimes contains part of the baby's spinal cord. The resulting damage to the spinal cord causes permanent disabilities, ranging from bowel and bladder control problems to paralysis of the legs.
Causes
Surgeons can remove the sac and push the spinal cord back into your baby's body, but most spina bifida disabilities are permanent. Consequently, researchers have focused on learning about the causes of spina bifida and ways to prevent it. A 2005 Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission report lists possible causes of spina bifida: insufficient folic acid, previous spina bifida child, insulin-dependent diabetes, taking anti-seizure medications, obesity, exposure to high temperatures in early pregnancy through a fever or hot tub use, Caucasian or Hispanic ethnicity, and poverty.
Folic Acid's Role
Researchers in the 1980s and 1990s discovered that if women received an adequate amount of folic acid in their diets prior to and during pregnancy, their chances of delivering a baby with spina bifida fell by 70 percent. A 2002 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report describes a 1998 action by the Food and Drug Administration that requires cereal grain products -- bread, pasta, and breakfast cereals -- to contain added folic acid. Spina bifida and similar illnesses fell by 20 to 30 percent among newborns, but spina bifida babies continue to be born. The report noted that many women of childbearing age remain unaware that they need to get more folic acid into their diets.
Increasing Folic Acid
Folic acid can be taken in pill form as a supplemental vitamin or by eating foods that contain large amounts of it, such as oranges, peanuts and broccoli. Researchers have discovered that mothers who have one baby with spina bifida need to take much more folic acid before attempting another pregnancy. According to the National Women's Health Information Center, the average woman planning a pregnancy should be taking 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid each day, but you may need to take 10 times the normal dose -- 4,000 mcg daily. Contact your doctor and ask for a prescription for this elevated amount of folic acid and go over with your doctor any other genetic or lifestyle factors that may be increasing your spina bifida pregnancy risk.
References
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Spina Bifida Fact Sheet
- National Women's Health Information Center: Folic Acid
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Folic Acid and Spina Bifida; J. David Erickson; September 2002
- State of Indiana: Spina Bifida
- Spina Bifida Association: About Spina Bifida
- Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission; Spina Bifida; Thomas Farley; February 2005
