what exactly is spina bifida?
Question:
Answers:
spinal bifida is a congential defect usually caused by a vitamin deficincy in the morther (folic acid), now when you are pregnant the doc makes all mothers take a folic acid suppliment for the first few months of pregnancy. The condition is where the spine grows on the outside of the body rather than the inside.
In these times there are wonderful surgeries to repair the condition, placing the spinal cord,etc back in the babys body.
I am a respiratory therapist, and out of all the cases I have seen in the hospital, the one I remember was a 20-something guy with it, that ended up dying of a severe pnemonia, all the cases I have seen were short patients, who could not walk, and could not lay flat on their backs. they also look as if they have a tail.
The surgery now, does not have those results.
Other Answers:
In the early fetal stage, one of the major organs developing is the neural tube that develops to form and enclose the brain and spine. It develops within the first 30 days of pregnancy. If the neural tube does not develop properly, a baby can be born with abnormalities of the spine, spinal cord and coverings of the spinal cord, including the skin, as well as brain and skull abnormalities.
Babies with brain and skull defects usually die soon after birth. Babies with spinal deformities can live much longer, however, often times, parts of the spinal column are exposed and the spine itself can be malformed. In addition to the deformities spina bifuda causes, these children may be predisposed to infection of the spinal column and their odds of living long and productive lives are not good.
The source listed here is actually posted by a law firm that is looking for clients, but it has a good layman's description of the condition and at least one of its proximate causes (lack of folic acid).
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