Spina Bifida Occulta in Babies
When a mother goes for a routine prenatal exam, she doesn't expect to hear "Your baby has spina bifida." Thoughts of deformed spines and learning disabilities may fill your head when you think of this disease, but the good news is not all forms of spina bifida will so greatly impact your baby's life. Here's what you need to know about one type of spina bifida, called spina bifida occulta.
What is Spina Bifida Occulta?
Spina bifida occulta is the mildest form of spina bifida a person can have. The word "occulta" means "hidden," and aptly describes this disease.
Babies born with spina bifida have incomplete development of the brain, spinal cord or spinal cord covering. With spina bifida occulta, a birth defect 5 to 10 percent of Americans have, the spine and nerves aren't affected, but at least one vertebra isn't well formed.
What Causes Spina Bifida?
Spina bifida begins while the baby is still in the womb. Tissues that should create the neural tube do not close in babies with spina bifida; this causes the vertebrae to open, resulting in spina bifida.
Nobody is entirely sure what causes any type of spina bifida; if the baby's mother has a high fever during pregnancy, the baby's chances of developing spina bifida may increase. In addition, mothers who take valproic acid to control epilepsy seizures might also be at greater risk of giving birth to a child with spina bifida.
A folic acid deficiency in expecting mothers is also linked to spina bifida, and since the forming of the neural tube takes place before most women know they are pregnant (21 to 28 days after conception), women who may become pregnant should take 400 mcg of folic acid daily, continuing through the pregnancy.
Symptoms
Babies and children with spina bifida occulta rarely have side effects typically associated with other types of spina bifida, like bladder control problems, ADHD and learning disabilities. Typically, the only outward sign of spina bifida occulta is a dimple, birthmark or patch of hair on the lower spine. In many cases, even these are not present.
Diagnosis
Spina bifida is usually discovered before a baby is born and treatment can sometimes begin in the womb.
AFP (alpha-getoprotein) tests, given to expecting mothers in their 16th to 18th week of pregnancy, can help diagnose spina bifida, as can routine ultrasounds.
Sometimes, when spina bifida occulta isn't detected through these prenatal tests, a person may never know he has it unless a later X-ray or MRI reveals the disease.
Treatment
In almost cases, babies and children with spina bifida occulta don't require treatment of any kind. In rare instances, babies may require surgery.
Tags: spina bifida, with spina bifida, bifida occulta, spina bifida, spina bifida occulta
