What Everyone Ought to Know About Genes and Spina Bifida

Spina bifida used to be a frequent complication in the health of newborn babies, but thanks to recent medical advances it no longer affects the wellbeing and wellness of so many. For some children, however, it may be that this problem comes from their genetics, rather than from any kind of congenital complication.

 

Spina Bifida is commonly linked to a condition called Arnold-Chiari malformation, which is a genetic disorder. It can cause all kinds of life-altering complications. It is generally thought to be caused by complications during the first trimester of pregnancy, although the origin of these complications are not really understood.

 

If you have a child with spina bifida, it is important to know that your child will undergo a variety of diagnostic tests during early life, all done with the intention of ensuring that they are set up with the best possible healthcare for life. As part of this, an MRI scan is normally done to check your child’s brain function and find out if there are any complications that you need to be aware of.

 

When an MRI scan is done on children whose spina bifida is secondary to Arnold-Chiari malformation, the picture will show a complication at the bottom of the skull, where brain matter appears to have fallen into the spinal column. This can cause extreme headaches, radiating from the neck into the head. There is also likely to be increased incidence of arm and neck pain.

 

Often these symptoms are misdiagnosed as spina bifida related, rather than Arnold-Chiari malformation being investigated. If the pain is persistent in the neck and arm, and if a complication of swallowing starts to become involved too, then it is at this point that you should ask for your child to be assessed for the malformation, as it may enlighten you on the cause of their spina bifida.

Categories: arnold-chiari, bifida, chiari malformation, complications, malformation, mri scan, nbsp, spina, spina bifida

Warning: There is a Link Between Diet and Spina Bifida

If you are trying to get pregnant, good diet and nutrition are even more important than ever. Not only do you need to think of your own wellness, if you are planning to go through the strenuous task of supporting another life and birthing a baby, but you also have to think of the wellbeing of the baby.

 

Women who are of a child bearing age and in any way likely to fall pregnant are recommended to take certain vitamins, which they should then continue into the first trimester of pregnancy, which is the time during which the foetus is developing at the fastest rate.

 

The link between diet and the development of the foetus has been studied for a long time, and as part of this, neural tube defects have been looked at. Through medical research, it has been discovered that neural tube defects generally occur during the first few weeks after conception, and that diet can play a strong part in helping to avoid them.

 

Folic acid is thought to be a key player in this process, and women who take folic acid before pregnancy and during the first trimester are thought to be far less likely to have a baby with a neural tube defect. Taking other vitamins during these important times can also help to guard against other problems in the developing foetus.

 

To adequately protect against these neural tube defects (like spina bifida), women should aim to consume around 400 micrograms of folic acid every day before conception and for 13 weeks after. This level of folic acid cannot really be obtained through food, so women should take a daily dietary supplement to ensure that their baby is protected from developing a neural tube defect. Neural tube defects have serious implications for the health of a baby, throughout the course of their life.

Categories: bifida, folic, spina