Spina Bifida

Spina bifida is a neural tube defect that occurs when the spinal column does not close during the early months of fetal development.

Other common symptoms of spina bifida include learning disabilities, urinary complications and fluid in the brain. Because the nerve damage can be severe, paralysis in the legs is common.

Treatment involves wearing braces or using a wheelchair for mobility purposes. Surgery, medications and therapy can also be used to treat spina bifida.

All pregnant women should take folic acid to reduce the chances of having a baby with a neural tube defect.

Comments: Spina-Bifida

Comments 1 to 24 of about 25.
1

MinnesotaMoms - 34 days ago.
I wish the doctors had been wrong about my baby's diagnosis, but my son definitely has SB and Hydrocephalus. We've been in the hospital 17 days waiting for his surgical wounds to heal. The shunt in his brain leaks fluid around it like an ill-fitting cork and every day the doctors have to drain the site. The hole in his back was HUGE and did not have the protective sac to cover it. When my son was born he was able to kick his left leg and move his right leg a bit. Since the surgery to close his spine opening, his legs seem paralyzed. Of course he is still recovering and has a long way to go. He is an absolute gem, though. I never thought I'd give birth to a baby so freaking cute! The nurses all love him. He is so sweet and so strong. What the angels missed in his spine they made up for with dimples in his cheeks and chin. Where he got those is beyond me since his father and I are completely dimple-less!

*-Mrs.Parker-* - 85 days ago.
hey ladies...my mind is all of a sudden all over the place with these birth defects idk why...according to my doctor everything looks good. but my husband has SB and the doctors told him he wouldn't live to be 14 and would be soo short...well they were wrong..but its got me thinking our little one has this...even tho the doctor looked at his spine and said it looked good, I'm very concerned in my blogs I have one called 'confused' if you wanna see what I'm talking about feel free to take a look, I thought it was his penis but other moms are saying its his spine...please someone help me out I need to stop worrying but I can't.

lin - 136 days ago.
wow, thats crazy that they were wrong for both of us! Thank god they were though! The club foot he was born with, seemed so minor considering what we thought we were dealing with!

SydneeMay2009 - 138 days ago.
lin- your story is just like mine! I was told that my daughter had spina bifida, with enlarged brain ventricles and a clubfoot which meant trisomy 13. I kept going for all these ultrasounds and two amnios and a lot of stress, heartache and pain to have her be born 3 1/2 months later absolutley perfect! No clubfoot, spina bifida or anything else(she was tiny though!) All you ladies who have been told that your child has birth defects just remember that doctors don't know everything and ultrasounds aren't definite!

MinnesotaMoms - 191 days ago.
Hello all! How nice to have a support group at hand for issues like these. I found out today that my little baby BOY--yay--definitely has a nueral tube defect, aka Spina Bifida. (YAY for the boy, BOO for the SB). I was prepared for the news so was able to avoid a meltdown, thank god. Plus I had a wonderful doctor (unlike the last gloom and doom MD) who was all positive and upbeat. He looked like he had stepped right out of Mayberry RFD, bowtie and all! He had me rolling. And he told me EVERYTHING I could possibly want to know, so questions were kept at a minimum. I like a person who can dole out bad news and make you feel good about it. That's a gift, you know? Fortunately the defect is at the lowest base of the spine, so if your baby's going to have SB that's a good place to have it. Of course, nothing is ever certain until all is said and done so I am just going to keep hope alive. He will most likely have to have surgery right out of the womb or shortly thereafter, and that makes me feel sad that my poor baby comes straight into the world and right into pain. I cut the tip of my finger off with a pair of scissors once and thought I was going to faint walking to the corner CVS to buy some bandaids, I can't imagine having surgery on my spine. At least everything else about my little peanut looks normal. The doctor said the best thing I can do is make sure I carry this baby to term, which means no more giving the finger to slow drivers. Lord! Anyway, I think I'm going to go buy my son a bow tie...just for luck!

lin - 196 days ago.
Beautifully Written and I could not agree more. I was told with my first pregnancy that my baby had Ventriculomegaly, and possibly hydrochepalus or spina bifida. Was told he had a club foot, and that all these things together could mean he had some sort of trisomy or other anomoly associated with it. Well....we kept going back for ultrasounds, the news never really got any better...but low and behold out came my little miracle baby, with a minor club foot but otherwise PERFECTLY HEALTHY! Just goes to show that even with todays technology, they still can be wrong.

MinnesotaMoms - 199 days ago.
I was told a week ago that my AFP results came back pretty high, and the doctor (who I will call Dr. Gloom and Doom on account of everything coming out of her mouth is preceded by: 'High Risk'!) urged me to go get an ultra sound the very next day. So I did just that, and then that doctor said my baby had a bit of fluid on its brain. I was only 16 weeks so they couldn't tell the sex. So, both of these doctors are leaning towards Spina Bifida, even though now I still have to wait another 8 days before I can go in for a level 2 ultra sound. Let me tell you, ladies, I was never so scared in my life those first few days of getting this news. I stayed at home from work crying and lying in the fetal position and cursing the day God breathed breath into my lungs. Then I went and did some research. There are plenty of wonderful families out there who post their wonder children on youtube and different blogs. Though SB is a tough thing, it's not insurmountable. Just when I started feeling better about this whole thing, I found out that many of these alpha fetal protein test often give false positives. And sometimes babies have fluid on the brain that clears up all by itself! I truly believe doctors like to blow things out of proportion and until they can SHOW me beyond a shadow of a doubt that somthing is wrong, anything coming out of their mouths should be listened to with caution. Five years ago they told me I had uterine cancer and had me all set up to have my ovaries removed, and it turned out I had a fibroid! In anycase, I'm prepared for whatever the results. I love my baby, no matter what, and he/she will be what God intended, even if he/she has two heads and a tail!

dms714 - 295 days ago.
Hi Ladies- I'm having a tough weekend. I had the AFP test done on Monday morning and the nurse called me with the results yesterday afternoon saying they came back positive for neural tube defect but they said no down syndrome was detected. She told me not to worry to much as many women get a positive reading. I go Monday morning first thing for a target/more specific ultrasound for them to look at the babies spinal cord for possible spina bifida. I just need someone to talk to. I know God gives us only what we can handle, I'm just in shock right now. I hope the ultrasound comes back showing nothing, but I'm still nervous about it all, because it could be really bad. Only my husband and I know and haven't told our family and friends as we want to wait and see what Monday's doctor's apt. shows. Just let me know your thoughts. I would love to read them. Trying to figure out how to prepare for Monday and get any helpful info.

cdobson - 311 days ago.
I'm 24 weeks pregnant and had an ultersound at week21..My doctor is concerned and have to go back on wednesday for another ultersound to make sure everything is okay...The reason why i'm writig is cause tolday she told me that theres a 1percent that it can be spina-bifida or 1% that its down syndrom...My husband is freaked out by the whole thing that he doesn't wanna talk about it..I know i'm a strong person but i'd like to know more about this so i can brace myself for wednesday..

courtlyn - 311 days ago.
Hey girls. I was hoping that someone could put my mind to peace alittle. My son was born 11-23-2008. When I was in the hospital I was changing his diaper and kept asking why there was a 'second' anus, and no one would even look or pay attention to the fact that I was concerned. When I went to his two week appointment the doctor brought it up and kind of freaked me out about it. Now that i've read up on it I'm worried about it. He does move his legs and pee regularly but I'm still concered. Now the doctor said that he cant actually have an ultrasound until he's 6 weeks, i dont have another pediatric appointment till the 26th of this months. Any comments...

mummybigz - 342 days ago.
Hi jtrn & agee, I had a little boy on 19-09-08 he was born with the most severe spina bifida, (lumbersacral mylomeningecele), He has a couple of other problems which come with the condition, If you ever want to talk or ask questions feel free to message my page. Emma x

AmandaLovesRichardBakerSince2004 - 345 days ago.
is it posable for the little dimple to disapear? The reason I ask is because my Baby was born with one in her spine and They did an Ultrasound on the 5th of this month and the dr said it's nothing to worry about I wonder what he mean's by that.

agee - 346 days ago.
Hi jtrn...I can relate with you. I am 18 weeks also and my results of my quad came back and the dr said neural tube defect. He set me up with a genetic counselor on friday. I see my dr on monday and prob then he will send me for level 2 ultrasound. If i were you i would call my dr and have him schedule one without waiting because i feel waiting isnt fair!! My numbers from what the dr said so far are 1 in 170. I have researched a little about it and there are mild cases and severe cases so i guess we just have to wait and see if the blood work came back correct. I have heard of many false positives so lets pray for that now and be positive . I am a little scared also anyone would be scared i want everything you want for your baby also. I think if it is minor it can be corrected i read something about surgery in the womb but first we have to see what it is. There are options at least. Hope all is well keep positive and i will have you in my prayers.

jtrn - 350 days ago.
Hello.....I wanted to try and touch base with people who could help me and Im hoping that someone will read this and respond....I am 18 wks preg and my AFP test came back high last wk. They havent even called me to schedule a lev 2 US yet and I am SO scared.....I just really REALLY want everything to be ok but I also dont know what to think feel whatever right now. I know I need to wait for the US to tell me anything but did anyone else have the AFP done, if so what were the numbers and with a problem, can it be fixed or just corrected?? I dont know that I can have a baby that cant walk or cant urinate or reproduce....Im scared of the baby's quality of life and the long term also....Please help if you can. Thank you, Jennifer

shelynn - 356 days ago.
bernadette~ my daughters is 14 months now and when she was born she had a small dimple on her lower back as well.. we new nothing of it.intill the day she was born. they thought she had spina bifida but it truned out to just be a tethered spinal cord. I wish you guyd the best of luck on everything.

lovinlife - 360 days ago.
Bernadette- There are different levels of spinda-bifida... I have a half-sister on my dads side that has a severe case of spina-bifida. She has been in a wheel chair since she was a baby and has no feelings of her legs. I have a cousin on my dad's side as well that was born with this and his is a little less severe but still serious, he uses the braces that you place your arms inside of to keep him balanced so he can walk. Both also have urinary problems. My dad just found out a couple of years ago that he has spina-bifida as well but it is the lowest level, oculta. He is fine has no problems walking or anything. I wish you and your family luck with everything...

bernadette - 363 days ago.
my little grandaughter was born yestarday the 22 nov they have told my daughter that sophie has a hole at the bottom of her spine and has to go for a scan and might need an operation my daughter went into shock and did not ask quastions could anyone tell me more about this problem as they did not mention spina bifida.

renee8089 - 387 days ago.
hello, my brother has spina-bifida so i have to take folic acid 5mg daily, i took it for 3 months leading up to being pregnant, and for the 8 weeks i was preganant, unfortualtly we lost the baby, and i have since stopted taking the tablets. my question is (if any one knows..) is there a higher risk of spina-bifida if you fall pregnant again with in 3 months..?? never the less i will be starting the tablets again today, but not sure weather it is safe to TTC or wait 3 months..

crystal-chris - 401 days ago.
Hi Ladies... I'm 8 weeks pregnant right now and I have spina bifida oculta (the lowest of the 3 forms). They have me on 10x the normal amount of folic acid for the first 3 months to try to keep this genteic condition from passing to the baby. Just to let you all know. I have lived with this condition all my life. It would have never been detected if I hadn't had completely unrelated back problems that required an x-ray. That's when they noticed this. So just to ease your minds a little, yes this is and can be a very serious condition but it can also turn out to be nothing big. Blessings ladies and love your little ones!

mummybigz - 411 days ago.
Medicmom:- Thankyou! We feel blessed to be given this little boy, somebody out there obviously knew that i had all the love and courage a little baby like this needed to be looked after, and so they gave him to me! Me and my partner love him dearly and are going to travel to the end of the earth and back to give him everything he needs. We travel 200 mile for his treatment as it is a better hospital and we only want the best for our son. This all came as a complete shock as we werent expecting it and do not have it in the family, but after being mortified and hitting rock bottom, I have now got over the initial shock and thank the lord my little angel is here, and recovering so well. Good luck to MOEJUICY, i also admire you for your decision and once you meet your new little girl you will have no regrets and know you made the right decision.

lin - 412 days ago.
I admire your decision NOT to terminate your pregnancy. Just to give you some encouragement.... I work as a social worker with families and children with disabilities. There is one mother I work with who has a daughter that was born with Spina Bifida. She is now 22, very bright and CAN WALK! No wheel chair, no braces! There are positive outcomes and usually with spina bifida its more physical than mental which I personally would prefer my child to have a physical impairment as opposed to mental impairment. Best of luck to you, i hope everything turns out well for you and your family.

moejuicy - 417 days ago.
HI, I am 20 weeks and my doctor has told me that my baby has spina bifida.. I was told i should end my pregnancy by doctors. I told them no, im not terminating my pregnancy.. So if anyone has any helpful information I would really appreciate it. I was told im having a girl....

charcharsuperstar - 419 days ago.
hi! My niece has a mild case of spinal bifida.. it's low on her back and she had surgery a couple days after birth and seems to be doing GREAT ! -She is about 4 months old now, has full movement of her legs and everything ! :)

MedicMom - 421 days ago.
I have a 13yr old that was born with a severe spina bifida. He is beautiful, and my pride and joy. I am glad you are so happy and positive with your new baby. My best to you.

mummybigz - 422 days ago.
I delivered a beautiful baby boy, Oscar on 19-09-08 he was 7lb 15oz by elective caeserean section and he was born with un-detected spina bifida. He is my precious little boy and we love him so much!