In plain words
A neural tube defect is a birth defect of the brain or spinal cord. The neural tube is the early structure that becomes these organs. It closes in the first weeks of pregnancy, often before many people know they are pregnant. Spina bifida and anencephaly are the best-known types. taken before pregnancy and in early pregnancy is linked with a substantial reduction in these defects, according to the CDC and others. Causes include genes, nutrition, and other factors. Neural tube defects can be found on prenatal screening or ultrasound. If you are planning a pregnancy, ask your provider about folic acid and what your options are.
The deeper version
Neural tube defects are failures of neural tube closure in the first weeks after conception, producing anencephaly, spina bifida, and encephalocele among other forms. Their causes are multifactorial. The 1992 US Public Health Service recommendation for periconceptional folic acid (MMWR, 1992) was based on trials showing large reductions in recurrence. Observational work suggests that may also matter: Shaw and colleagues (American Journal of Epidemiology, 2004) found that the highest quartile of periconceptional choline intake was associated with about half the neural tube defect risk in a California case-control study, though later studies have been mixed. Causal evidence for choline is not established. The controversy concerns how much of the burden is preventable through nutrition, and how far and reach the highest-risk groups.
Where it comes up
- Folate and folic acidPregnancy: Eating
- Prenatal vitamins: when to start and what's in themBefore Pregnancy
- Choline: the nutrient nobody mentionsPregnancy: Eating
- Trimester Zero: preparing your body before pregnancyBefore Pregnancy
What mothers here say about neural tube defect
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Sources
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Recommendations for the use of folic acid to reduce the number of cases of spina bifida and other neural tube defects, MMWR (1992)
- Shaw GM and colleagues — Periconceptional dietary intake of choline and betaine and neural tube defects in offspring. American Journal of Epidemiology (2004)