Spina bifida is a congenital birth defect. It is a neural tube defect effecting the spinal cord. Because it effects the spinal cord, it can cause issues with other parts of the body, depending on the level of the defect. 

There are three kinds of spina bifida:

• spina bifida occulta

• meningocele

• myelomeningocele

Many people have spina bifida occulta and never know it unless they have a back injury or need an MRI or X-ray of the spine. It can go undetected for years.

Meningocele is the least-common. There is a defect in the spinal column, but the spinal cord and nerves are not displaced.

Myelomeningocele is the most severe form of spina bifda, and very common. It usually involves nerve damage due to the spinal cord and nerves being caught up in scar tissue, or nerve damage due to spinal cord injury during back closure surgery.

Many children with spina bifida often have hydrocephalus (water on the brain). This can be corrected with a shunt, which is surgically placed to relieve the excess pressure.

Depending on the level of the defect, there can be problems walking, and with bowel and bladder control.

Spina bifida is not a disease, and unless medical science discovers a way to repair nerve damage, it won't "get better." It is equivalent to a spinal cord injury. However, people with spina bifida can and do live long, fulfilled, happy lives. It is not a death sentence -- people with spina bifida have normal life expectancies. And as long as they get proper medical care early in life, they have as much chance of living an independent life as anyone else.

Unfortunately, many doctors who aren't familiar with spina bifida make unwarranted dire prognosis when it's found in an unborn baby. It is very common for a parent to be given a list of horrible things to look forward to, just to have their baby born not nearly as disabled as "predicted." In other words, many doctors don't understand spina bifida and can rarely accurately predict the severity of disability before birth.

 Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)