Causes & Risk Factors Of Spina Bifida

Certain Medications

Any time a woman is pregnant, the pills she takes can end up affecting her unborn child. One of the many ways medications can harm a developing fetus is by causing spina bifida to occur. The most common class of drugs to cause spina bifida are anti-seizure medications, but some other types of drugs can also cause issues. Medications that cause spina bifida seem to be problematic because they alter the body's ability to absorb certain nutrients. Without the ability to absorb folic acid, a pregnant mother will be deficient regardless of how much she eats. This lack of folate can then keep the baby's neural tube from developing properly, so spina bifida ends up occurring. Because certain medications can increase the chances of a child ending up with spina bifida, it is essential to speak to your doctor before taking any while pregnant.

Continue reading for another link to spina bifida.

Obesity

Doctors are not exactly aware of the reason obesity is linked to spina bifida, but statistics show there is a decent correlation between the two conditions. The weight of the baby does not matter, but an obese mother does increase the risk of neural tube congenital disabilities in the fetus. This increase is startlingly high. Babies born to obese women are twice as likely to get spina bifida as babies born to women at a healthy weight. Having a body mass index of thirty or higher greatly increases chances of spina bifida. This increased risk of spina bifida is present even if the mother is not obese during pregnancy. Being obese in the months leading up to pregnancy can also affect the chances of spina bifida.

Continue reading to discover another cause of spina bifida.