- Neural tube defects - risk of occurrence
- Congenital neural tube defects - how to prevent?
- The importance of folic acid in the prevention of malformations
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Neural tube defects, i.e. defects in the fetus, arise in the first weeks of pregnancy and are the result of developmental abnormalities, the so-called neural tube closure disorders. Neural tube defects occur in the first month of pregnancy, and the intake of folic acid by women of childbearing age reduces the risk of their occurrence by as much as 70 percent.
Neural tube defects(WCN) are divided into two basic groups: anencephaly, and meningeal and meningeal hernias, and the risk of their occurrence is genetically and environmentally determined.
Neural tube defects - risk of occurrence
Statistics show that if one of the offspring is affected by WCN, the risk of developing the defect in the next child is about 4 percent and increases as new cases of the defect occur in the offspring. After two children with WCN are born to the same parents, the risk is greater than 10 percent.
Doctor Grzegorz Południewski emphasizes that, in turn, among the environmental factors that may affect the formation of birth defects, in addition to environmental pollution and radiation, diet plays an important role, especially folic acid deficiency before pregnancy and in the first trimester of pregnancy.
The rates of WCN in Poland show that for 1000 live births 2 to 3 newborns are born with WCN, and the incidence of deaths from spina bifida and hydrocephalus is higher than in other countries.
Congenital neural tube defects - how to prevent?
Primary prevention of neural tube defects aims to reduce the frequency of WCN formation among all conceived fetuses. As part of primary prophylaxis, it is recommended that women of childbearing age take folic acid before becoming pregnant and in the first trimester of pregnancy, in order to supplement deficiencies in the body.
Secondary prevention of neural tube defects involves prenatal testing to identify fetuses at risk of WCN, prenatal counseling, and screening.
Genetic clinics look after women who have already given birth to children with defects and pregnant women who take medications that may affect the abnormal development of the fetus.
The importance of folic acid in the prevention of malformations
The deficiency of folic acid in the body promotes development disordersneural tube, the development of atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease and the occurrence of mental disorders.
Pregnant women are particularly prone to folic acid deficiency, and the demand for it increases by 2 to 4 times during this period. An insufficiently enriched diet in pregnant women increases the number of miscarriages, numerous pregnancy complications, decreases the birth weight of the newborn, underdevelopment of the placenta, and causes various birth defects in the embryo and fetus.
As emphasized by Dr. Grzegorz Południewski, MD, even a slight deficiency of folic acid can be dangerous to the he alth of women of reproductive age and in the first months of pregnancy, and also pose a risk of birth defects in the developing fetus.
Therefore, it is very important to take an appropriate dose (0.4 mg per day, for women planning pregnancy and pregnant women) of folic acid for the proper functioning of all cells in our body, especially for the proper development of the hematopoietic and nervous systems.
