The developing child in the womb can have neural tube defect. But this is not something to be afraid of. With proper care, you can give birth to a healthy child.
Recently, a 39 years old lady had suffered from abortion 6 times in Srinagar and had to go through medical termination of pregnancy 3 times due to neural tube defects.
According to WHO, every year, nearly 3,03,000 new borns die within 4 weeks of life due to congenital malformations. Lifestyle changes, career progression, increased maternal age and deficiency of nutrients increase the risk of congenital malformations.
Neural tube defects usually occur in starting 4 weeks of pregnancy and due to this, sometimes, the women is unaware of her pregnancy. The vessels of neural plate bend themselves backward to form the neural tube and brain and spinal cord is formed. When the anterior and posterior end of neural tube fails to get closed, this gives rises to encephaly. When neural tube is opened from the ends, it is termed as spina bifida. Treatment of both, spina bifida and encephaly is possible.
For healthy pregnancy, start taking 400mcg folic acid supplement daily from 1 month till delivery. The items similar to folate are beans, dark green vegetables like avocado, spinach, brocolli, roman lettuce, beets, sprouts, orange , seeds of sunflower, groundnuts, etc.
Also take multivitamin tablets because they also contain 0.4mg folate. This dose should be taken properly during organogenesis which usually occur in 3rd trimester. This helps in proper development of the foetus.
Thank you.