Spina bifida continues to be the most common permanently disabling birth defect and recent publications suggest spina bifida is estimated to occur in 1 in 2,858 pregnancies each year in the U.S. New methods for assessing a woman’s risk by examining the genetics in her folate pathway may allow doctors to intervene with a prescription regimen early enough to reduce the number of children born with spina bifida. Learn more about the scientific study.
Medical references:
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Neural tube defects. Washington (DC): American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG); 2003 Jul. 11 p. (ACOG practice bulletin; no. 44).
- De-Regil LM, Fernández-Gaxiola AC, Dowswell T, Peña-Rosas JP. Effects and safety of periconceptional folate supplementation for preventing birth defects. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010;CD007950.
- Parker SE, Mai, CT, Canfield MA et al. 2010. Updated National Birth Prevalence Estimates for Selected Birth Defects in US 2004-2006. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 88:1008-1016.
