Anencephaly

Of the many birth defects that plague potential parents, anencephaly is one of the most dreaded ones. The defect literally translates to “without head and brain”. The condition occurs when the baby’s brain and head development is cut off early in gestation or never happens at all.

The brain and spinal cord as well as the rest of the nervous system are a very delicate set of tissues and in a developing embryo, require very special nutrition. In particular, a nutrient called Vitamin B9 or Folic Acid is very important for the development of the head and brain. Without it, a key structure known as the neural tube (which is basically a balloon shaped organ which gives rise to the structures of the central nervous system) does not develop or fails to close completely causing anencephaly.

Prevention of anencephaly is quite simple as folic acid can be purchased over the counter and taken from the day pregnancy is confirmed. A 400 mg dose a day is enough to prevent neural tube defects. The good part about folic acid is that even if you take too much of it, there are no adverse effects as the excess just gets dumped into your urine. So, just taking a daily dose of it is the simplest and the easiest way to overcome any chances of a deficiency. Also, there is no need to get any blood tests done to look for a deficiency before you start taking folic acid tablets.

Screening for anencephaly and other birth defects is done during the routine ultrasounds which are normally done during pregnancy at 12 weeks and at 5 months. If a serious birth defect is detected during the screening, doctors can guide expectant parents about the best course of action.