Spina Bifida Life Expectancy

Spina Bifida Life Expectancy

In order to find out the spina bifida life expectancy, we first should know what spina bifida is. Spina bifida refers to birth defects associated with the neural tube, the embryonic structure that later develops into the baby's spinal cord, brain, and the tissues that enclose them. The neural tube develops during early pregnancy and closes at about 28thday of conception. If your baby has spina bifida, it means there is some issue related to the development or closure of the neural tube. This causes defects in the bones of the spine and in the spinal cord itself. Keep reading to learn more about this condition.

What'sSpina Bifida Life Expectancy?
The life expectancy of spina bifida varies and most people believe that a baby with spina bifida cannot live through childhood. Actually, with the mildest form of spina bifida and no other birth defect, a baby has 70% chances to reach their early childhood.

It is possible to improve life expectancy if steps are taken to control pressure sores, bladder infections, and conditions like Hydrocephalus. With a better supply of antibiotics and shunts available, there has been a considerable improvement in spina bifida life expectancy. In 2001, there are statistics showing that up to 75% of children with the severest form of spina bifida lived until early childhood and even longer, but they did require serious support to survive in their adulthood. Some medical professionals believe that about 90% of sufferers can live past 35 years of age.

What Affects Spina Bifida Life Expectancy?
It is important to understand that spina bifida does not always cause serious symptoms. In fact, the sufferer may only have minor physical disabilities. Several factors can affect the severity of the condition and reduce life expectancy of spina bifida. Here is more about it:

The Severity of Condition
The location and size of the neural tube defect may affect the severity of the situation. Other things like if skin covers the affected area or which spinal nerve comes out of the affected area will also determine the severity of your condition. With your condition becoming severe, there will be a considerable decrease in life expectancy with spina bifida.

Possible Complications
Certain complications can affect your spina bifida life expectancy, which could include:

• The first complication is physical and neurological problems, such as paralysis of the legs and loss of bladder or bowel control.


• Accumulation of fluid in the brain is another complication, which is quite common in babies born with myelomeningocele.


• Some people may have to deal with Meningitis, which refers to the infection in the tissues around the brain.


• Some children may also develop learning disabilities, have trouble learning math, and encounter problems with language.


• It is also common for children with spina bifida to experience skin problems, latex allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, Urinary Tract Infections and Depression.

How to Improve Spina Bifida Life Expectancy
Certain things will help improve life expectancy of spina bifida patients. Here is more about it:

1. Prenatal Surgery
The procedure takes place before the birth of a baby with spina bifida. It takes place before the 26th week of pregnancy and involves repairing the baby's spinal cord inside the uterus. Experts believe that it is better to repair spina bifida defects during pregnancy because nerve function becomes worse rapidly after birth.

2. C-Section Birth
It sometimes becomes essential to go for cesarean birth if a baby has spina bifida. It is mainly because babies with this disorder may be in a feet-first position. Your doctor will recommend cesarean birth if they find your baby in a breech position or detect a large cyst.

3. Surgery After Birth
If a patient has developed meningocele, surgery is the only option available to put the meninges back in place. It is important to go for a surgery early to prevent infections.

4. Ongoing Care

• Surgery is only to repair the damage not the cure for this condition. So babies with myelomeningocele need ongoing care from physicians, surgeons and therapists due to irreparable nerve damage.


• Bladder and bowel problems also need careful attention and a therapist usually works with babies to help them do exercises that would make it easier for them to walk with crutches or braces when they are older.


• There may be other complications requiring additional surgeries. For example, additional surgical procedures are required to correct issues such as a tethered spinal cord.

5. Tips for Home Care
While taking above mentioned steps will help improve spina bifida life expectancy, you need to take some home care measures to make things better. Here are some ways to support your child:

• Never miss any scheduled doctor visits.


• Assist your child and help them be active and as independent as possible.


• Give your child plenty of fluids and encourage them to eat food rich in fiber to prevent Constipation.


• Regularly check the skin of your child for any bruises, cuts and pressure sores, especially for children who have no feelings in their legs. Any cuts may lead to an infection.


• Take your child to an eye specialist after regular intervals because spina bifida can weaken eye muscles.


• Never expose your child to latex products if they have a latex Allergy.

Talk to your doctor and your child's teacher if you notice any learning difficulties. Also, inform them about your child's condition and ask for any special programs they have available for children with special needs.

Spina Bifida

Spina Bifida






Spina bifida is a congenital (inherited by birth) that affects the growth of bones in the vertebral column. The child’s spinal cord does not form properly and sometimes makes it difficult for the child to walk or carry on with daily activities. Birth defect occurs on the neural tube which later develops into spinal cord and baby’s brain with the surrounding tissues.

The neural tube is the structure that forms before the end of first month of pregnancy and it closes shortly after formation. But in babies with spina bifida the neural tube fails to close normally causing defective bone growth on the spine. This condition occurs from mild to severe form of deviation and no treatment is available for treating spina bifida except surgery.

Types :

Spina bifida occurs in 3 types according to the range of severity namely occulta, meningocele and myelomeningocele.

Spina Bifida Occulta :

It is the more common type of deviation that occurs in the mildest form. Children with this type will not show any symptoms of defect unless a spinal cord X-ray is taken for other reasons. The children will not exhibit any signs of neurological problem in this mild type. In rare cases the skin above the spinal cord will show some defects like collection of fat, accumulation of tuft of hair, discoloration of skin in the back, and a small birthmark indication in that area.

Meningocele :

This type exhibits moderate range of deviation in which the protective membrane or tissues surrounding the spinal cord protrude out through a small opening seen in the vertebrae. This can be corrected by surgery without causing any damage to the nervous system or spine. It is a rare type of spina bifida affecting the children.

Myelomeningocele :

This type is the most severe one in which the baby’s spinal cord remains open on many vertebrae of the back. In this type, the membranes and the connective tissues and the spinal cord grows out of the baby’s back protruding at the back. It forms a big sac on the back portion of the child making him vulnerable to many infections.

This type of spina bifida would cause severe problems with the nervous system of the child like muscular weakness, paralysis (partial or full), seizures, bowel problem and many orthopedic issues like deformed feet and irregular hips making him difficult to walk.

Causes :

There is no concrete cause for inheriting spina bifida. Some believe that it can be passed on to the child through genes. Women who are obese and who are diabetic are more vulnerable to get a child with this disorder. But it occurs due to some wrong combination of genes and due to deficiency of folic acid.

This disease is common in certain race of people like Hispanics and Whites. Women with one child having neural tube defect have increased risk of having another child with the same defect.

Intake of certain drugs like valporic acid can cause serious neural tube defects during pregnancy. It can also be caused due to increased body temperature during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Symptoms :

The symptoms will be intense if the spina bifida appears on severe form. But there will not be any obvious symptom for the child with mild form of spina bifida. In moderate form, the child will have hairy patches on his back or a birthmark or a dimple on his back.

In severe form, the child will have intense nerve damage that makes him difficult to move his muscles on the legs. He cannot move many parts of the body that is controlled by spinal cord. Hence it will affect his daily life severely. In rare cases, there can be accumulation of fluid in the brain causing life threatening conditions. The child can get seizures, paralysis or even vision problem. He can get a curve (scoliosis) on his spine. Such children will usually develop intense Allergy to rubber products like latex.

Diagnoses :

Fetal ultrasound test can detect the presence of spina bifida in the fetus. Further the pregnant woman can undergo Amniocentesis test (removal of some amount of amniotic fluid through a needle) to confirm the disorder. After birth, any doctor can physically examine the baby to detect spina bifida. He would order for CT or MRI scan to assess the intensity of damage caused to the nerves. For some women, maternal blood sample is taken and tested for the presence of alpha fetoprotein MSAFP. If the levels are very high it indicates that the fetus has neural tube defect.

Treatment :

Treatment for spina bifida depends on the severity of the problem. For children with mild defect no treatment is required. However for children with severe form of disease surgery is done for correcting the nerve damage. During the surgery, the meninges (protruding tissues) are put back in place and the surgeon will close the opening of vertebrae.

For children with myelomeningocele surgery is to be done immediately after birth to reduce the risk of infection. The surgeon will push the spinal cord and tissues well inside the body of the baby and close them with the baby’s skin and muscle. Shunting is done to prevent accumulation of fluid in the brain.

Prenatal surgery is done during 26th week of pregnancy in which the surgeon cuts open the uterus for repairing the fetus spinal cord. Experts believe that it is good to correct the spina bifida before birth since it makes the baby vulnerable for high rate of infection and the disease would worsen rapidly. However prenatal surgery poses certain risk to the life of the baby and the mother.

Support is to be given by the parents and others for the child who has undergone corrective surgery for spina bifida. Ongoing care is absolutely necessary from therapists and physicians for treating other conditions like paralysis, bowel problems and seizures. The child should be given physiotherapy for preparing his legs to walk with the help of braces. Further surgeries are to be done for repairing and restoring certain vital functions.

Support and Coping :

For parents who have children with spina bifida in mild form nothing is going to change. Only for severe forms of this disease the children will face problem in walking and carrying out daily activities. Most of the children who have undergone corrective surgery can walk with the support of braces or splinters. They need the help of wheelchairs for covering long distances.

However the good news about spina bifida affected children is they have normal intelligence and hence there will not be any problem in learning. Basic physical disability will lead to emotional problem and hence parents and teachers should be supportive to the child. Number of support groups are available to offer help and counseling for the children affected with spina bifida.

Pictures of Spina Bifida :

Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Spina Bifida

Prevention :

Nothing can be done to prevent the occurrence of spina bifida in your child. But every pregnant woman should take folic acid in recommended dosage during the first three months of pregnancy to reduce the risk of neural tube defects in the child. Taking extra dose of folic acid can help you to reduce the risk of having a child affected with spina bifida.

Spina Bifida – Symptoms, Types, Causes, Treatment, Life Expectancy

Spina Bifida – Symptoms, Types, Causes, Treatment, Life Expectancy

What is Spina Bifida?

This is a portion of a grouping of defects of birth referred to as “neural tube defects”. This tube is the primary configuration that ultimately progresses into the spinal cord and brain of the baby as well as the tissues that encompass them.

Usually, this tube forms early during the pregnancy and is generally completed by the 28th day after conception. In those infants born with spina bifida, some share of this neural tube will fail to close properly or develop, thus producing flaws in the spinal cord as well as in the bones of the backbone.

This defect occurs in several degrees of severity. When treatment for spina bifida is needed, it is done thru surgery, but such treatment does not always resolve the problem completely.

Spina Bifida Symptoms and Types

Spina bifida happens in three (3) forms, each variable in how severe each is:

Spina Bifida Occulta
This is the mildest form causing a gap that is small in one or several of the vertebrae bones in the spine. Due to the nerves in the spine not usually being involved, many of those with this type of spina bifida have no symptoms or signs and there are no problems neurologically.

A clump of hair that is abnormal, a gathering of fat, a dimple that is small or a mark on the skin of the newborn above the defect might be the lone sign of the disorder. Many individuals who have “spina bifida occulta” do not even realize it until the problem is found while having an imaging procedure for a reason that is unrelated.

Meningocele
This is the form that is rarest, and the membranes that protect the spinal cord known as the meninges bulge out thru the gap in the vertebrae. Since the spinal cord normally develops, the membranes may be surgically removed with very little if any damage to pathways of the nerve.

Myelomeningocele
Also referred to as “open spina bifida”, is the more severe type – and is the form individuals normally think of when they use or hear the words “spina bifida”. In this form, the spinal canal of the baby stays open along with several vertebrae in the middle or lower back. Due to these openings, both the spinal cord and the membranes are protruding at birth, creating a sac on the baby’s back. In several cases, skin is covering this sac. Normally, however, nerves and tissues are exposed, causing the baby to be prone to infections that are life-threatening.

Neurological impairment – often will include paralysis or the loss of movement – is common. So are problems with bladder and bowel, seizures as well as other medical difficulties.

Spina Bifida Causes

Medical researchers are not sure what causes this defect. As it is with many problems, it seems to result from a combination of environmental and genetic risk factors, for instance family history of “neural tube defects” as well as a deficiency of folic acid.

Although physicians and medical researchers do not know for certain why spina bifida happens, they have identified several risk factors:

Family history of defects of the neural tube
Couples who have one child with a “neural tube defect” hold a somewhat greater hazard of delivering another baby with this identical defect. This risk rises if there are two (2) prior children who have been affected by this disorder. In addition, any woman born with a “defective neural tube” or with a relative who is close with one also has a larger risk of giving child birth to a baby with spina bifida. But, most babies with the defect are born to parents with no acknowledged family history of this condition.

Race
This condition is most common among Hispanics and whites.
Folate deficiency
Folate which is vitamin B-9 is vital to healthy fetal development. Folate is the usual type of the vitamin B-9. The form that is synthetic, found in fortified foods and supplements, is referred to as folic acid. A deficiency in folate raises the peril of spina bifida as well as other “neural tube defects”.

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Several medications
Medications known as anti-seizure, for instance valproic acid sold as Depakene is believed to be a cause in the development of “neural tube defects” especially when used while pregnant, since they seem to obstruct the body’s capacity to consume folate or folic acid.

Obesity
Obesity pre-pregnancy is linked with a bigger risk of “neural tube birth” deficiencies containing spina bifida.

Diabetes
Women who have diabetes and who do not control blood sugar levels will have a higher peril of having a baby with this defect.

Body temperature increase
There has been evidence that suggests body temperature that is increased and known as hyperthermia in the early months of pregnancy can raise the danger of this defect. Stirring the core temperature of the body by only three (3) to four (4) degrees F. over normal – about two (2) degrees C – because of fever or using of tanning beds, saunas, or hot tubs, has been linked with enlarged hazard of spina bifida.

If an individual has a risk factor for this defect – speak with the physician to decide if you must have a bigger dose or perhaps a prescription dosage of folic acid prior to the pregnancy beginning. If a woman takes medications, tell the physician. Some medications may be attuned to reduce any threat of spina bifida, if procedures are completed ahead of time.

Spina Bifida Treatment

Treatment for this defect is contingent on how severe the situation. “Spina bifida occulta” frequently does not usually need any treatment, but most other kinds of spina bifida do.

Surgery
Meningocele consist of surgery to put the meninges in place and then close the gap in the vertebrae. This type of defect also needs surgery, normally within a few hours to a few days after birth. The earlier this surgery is done will help minimize any risk of an infection developing that is linked with the nerves that are exposed as well as might also help in defending the spinal cord from any added trauma. While doing this surgery, a neurosurgeon will space the spinal cord and tissue exposed inside the infant’s body and then shields them with skin and muscle. Frequently a shunt which manages Hydrocephalus in the infant’s brain is placed there while doing surgery on the spinal cord.

Prenatal surgery
This is a procedure which is not available widely – surgeons expose the pregnant mother’s uterus, open the uterus and repair the spinal cord of the fetus. This surgery is performed between the 19th and the 25th week of the pregnancy.

Medical professionals have investigated the success of any prenatal surgery for this defect. The advocates of surgery on fetuses say that the function of the nerves in infants with this disease seems to get worse quickly after birth, so it might be best to do repairs while they are still in utero. Children who have this fetal surgery do seem to need much fewer shunts and are much less likely to need walking devices or crutches. But this surgery does pose risks to the mother and it does seem to greatly increase the risk of delivery prematurely.

Ongoing care
Treatment does not end with any surgery. In babies with myelomeningocele, nerve damage has already happened and ongoing care from a team of surgeons, physicians as well as therapists is needed. Bladder and bowel problems as well as paralysis normally remains and treatment for these problems normally start soon after birth. Those infants with myelomeningocele must also start exercises preparing their legs for walking with crutches or braces when older.

Additionally, infants with myelomeningocele might need further surgeries for a variety of problems. Many have a spinal cord that is tied – condition where the spinal cord becomes bound to scars of the closure and is less capable to grow properly in length while the baby grows. This “tethering” that is progressive may create loss of function of the muscle to the bladder or bowel as well as the legs. The surgery may limit disability degree and might also restore other functions.

Cesarean birth
This also might be a portion of the management for spina bifida. In majority of babies with spina bifida, the situation is usually discovered before birth and cesarean birth is believed to be a much safer method in delivering these infants. Delivery prior to labor starting might reduce the amount of damage to the exposed nerves of the baby so many specialists now do endorse a cesarean section.

Spina Bifida Life Expectancy

The prognosis for infants and children with these defects has dramatically changed over the years. A recent study issued in 2001 stated that with proper care medically, at least 75% of infants born with the more severe form of spina bifida which is myelomeningocele will likely live into their early adulthood years. The authors of this study have an opinion that constantly providing supportive care for these adults is a challenge.

Spina Bifida Pictures