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Who Needs Folic Acid?
You Do!
By Shelly Hemig
"However, it is certain that taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy reduces the risk of having a child with spina bifida," says Griffen.
The challenges faced by babies born with spina bifida can include paralysis of the legs, loss of bowel and bladder control, hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and learning disabilities. "Despite varying severity, many individuals with spina bifida lead successful and productive lives," says Griffen.
Those babies with anencephaly have no such hope. The very nature of the defect is that part or all of the brain never develops. The baby cannot live outside the womb.
Karen B. faced this devastating news during her second pregnancy. After trying for four years to give their first son a sibling, Karen became pregnant. At 16 weeks, she took the routine Alpha-fetaprotein test (AFP), which checks for incidence of Down syndrome as well as neural tube defects. Her doctor informed her the evening she took the test that results indicated a definite problem. She was scheduled for an amniocentesis, but she only made it as far as the ultrasound to determine the baby's position in the uterus.
"The tech already saw the problem," says Karen. "My baby had anencephaly. Literally her head stopped just above the eyes." After a second opinion confirmed the diagnosis, Karen and her husband were faced with an agonizing decision.
"There obviously was no good outcome whatsoever," says Karen. "A baby can't survive without a brain. So we opted to terminate. I could not bear to carry to term only to know she would die within seconds of delivery." At 18 weeks, Karen chose to induce labor, rather than go through surgery.
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