Was It Possible to Prevent Your Baby's Spina Bifida or Encephalocele?

Research has shown that Spina Bifida and Encephalocele (also known as Neural Tube Defects) arise in the developing baby during the first 30 days of pregnancy. Studies have further shown that women who take a daily multivitamin with the B-vitamin Folic Acid prior to and during their pregnancy reduce the risk of having a baby with a Neural Tube Defect by up to 73%.

Because of these findings, it has become the medical standard of care to recommend multivitamin supplements containing Folic Acid to women who may become pregnant, are planning to become pregnant, or who are early in pregnancy ( i.e. all women of childbearing age who are sexually active).

If your doctor failed to tell you about Folic Acid, this might mean your baby's defect was caused by medical malpractice.   

Background Information

Early in pregnancy, the Neural Tube is the structure in the growing baby that will develop into the brain and spinal cord (parts of the nervous system). Proper growth of the neural tube influences the proper growth of the bones and tissues that will eventually surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. When the neural tube does not develop normally, the nervous system and the bones and tissues that protect the nervous system do not develop normally. Folic Acid likely plays a role in the normal growth and development of the Neural Tube in the baby during pregnancy.

Spina Bifida and Encephalocele are three conditions that result from abnormal growth of the Neural Tube in the growing baby during early pregnancy. They have been termed Neural Tube Defects or NTDs.

Patients with Spina Bifida have abnormalities of the spine, the spinal cord, and the coverings of the spinal cord. After birth, patients with Spina Bifida may have a variety of problems requiring extensive care from these abnormalities. These problems include paralysis, bowel and bladder incontinence, and altered skin sensation.

Babies with Anencephaly have severe problems in development of the brain and skull. Babies with Anencephaly die before or soon after birth.  

Babies born with an Encephalocele have a portion of the brain that sticks out through a hole in the skull. Babies born with Encephaloceles have a variety of problems depending on where and how large the hole in the skull is, and how badly damaged the portion of brain is that comes out through the hole. Medical treatment is required.

Preventing Neural Tube Defects

The United States medical community learned in the 1980s that the incidence of NTDs can be significantly reduced by the use of folic acid shortly before and after the beginning of a pregnancy. Small doses of folic acid are contained in certain fruits and vegetables, but in order to get enough folic acid to protect against NTDs, artificial supplementation is needed in the form of prenatal vitamins or multivitamins.

It is important to note that in order to obtain the protective benefits of folic acid against, prenatal vitamins or multivitamins need to be taken before and just after conception. By the time a woman ordinarily realizes she is pregnant, the brain and spinal cord have already developed to the point where it is too late for folic acid to be beneficial in terms of reducing the incidence of these NTDs.

Recognizing that about half of the pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, various governmental and medical organizations have for years been urging all women of child bearing age to supplement their folic acid intake with vitamins, even if they are not trying to get pregnant. Certainly, any woman who was planning to become pregnant while under a physician’s care should have been prescribed prenatal vitamins or multivitamins before attempting to get pregnant.

Despite everything the medical community has learned, studies show most women are still not getting enough folic acid when they become pregnant. About half the women in the United States do not even know that folic acid can help prevent birth defects. If all women of child bearing age in the United States were getting sufficient folic acid in their diets, hundreds of cases of NTDs could be prevented each year. These fatal and/or crippling birth defects currently affect about one in a thousand pregnancies.

Following are some questions to consider when evaluating whether your baby's Spina Bifida or Encephalocele (NTD) could have been prevented by taking a multivitamin containing Folic Acid :

1. Did you see a physician or other health care provider prior to pregnancy?
2. Did your physician or health care provider ask if you were sexually active?
3. Was your physician or health care provider aware of your desire to become pregnant?
4. Did your physician or health care provider recommend you take a multivitamin containing folic acid?
5. When was your child born?
6. When did you first notice a problem with your child?

If you think your baby’s Spina Bifida or Encephalocele could have been prevented by using Folic Acid, you may have the basis for a malpractice suit to recover costs associated with your child’s condition.

We Can Help You

The law firm of Feldman, Shepherd, Wohlgelernter, Tanner & Weinstock represents injured children and their parents in claims arising from the failure of some doctors to recommend that their female patients take prenatal vitamins or multivitamins containing folic acid before they become pregnant, in order to prevent Spina Bifida or other Neural Tube Defects.

Many children suffer from Spina Bifida. It is tragic, but true, that many of these sad outcomes could have been prevented if the doctors had given appropriate medical advice to their patients before they became pregnant.

If you or a loved one now suffers or has suffered from one of these medical conditions, and you question whether it might have been preventable with appropriate medical care, please contact us. We will investigate and determine if you have a meritorious claim. No fees or expenses will be charged unless we take your case and make a recovery for you. For more information call us at 1-877-724-3432 .