{"id":353543,"date":"2026-01-09T12:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=353543"},"modified":"2026-01-09T12:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T07:28:14","slug":"spina-bifida-role-of-folic-acid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/spina-bifida-role-of-folic-acid\/","title":{"rendered":"Spina Bifida &#038; Role of Folic Acid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>News<\/strong>&#8211; Many countries run folic acid\u2013based awareness programmes to prevent Spina Bifida, but India lacks large-scale efforts.<\/p>\n<h2>About Spina Bifida<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"148\" data-end=\"418\">Spina Bifida is a <strong data-start=\"166\" data-end=\"193\">congenital birth defect<\/strong> in which the spine and spinal cord do not form completely during early pregnancy.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"148\" data-end=\"418\">It is one of the <strong data-start=\"293\" data-end=\"334\">leading causes of childhood paralysis<\/strong>, with severity ranging from mild weakness in the legs to complete loss of movement.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"420\" data-end=\"608\"><strong>Cause<\/strong>&#8211; The exact cause is not fully understood, but it is associated with a combination of <strong data-start=\"508\" data-end=\"607\">genetic factors, nutritional deficiencies (especially folic acid), and environmental influences<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"610\" data-end=\"636\"><strong>Types of Spina Bifida<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"639\" data-end=\"834\"><strong data-start=\"639\" data-end=\"660\">Myelomeningocele:<\/strong> The <strong>most severe form<\/strong>, where the spinal cord and nerves protrude through the back. Children often face paralysis, bowel and bladder dysfunction, and long-term disability.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"837\" data-end=\"998\"><strong data-start=\"837\" data-end=\"853\">Meningocele:<\/strong> A <strong data-start=\"856\" data-end=\"876\">fluid-filled sac<\/strong> bulges out through the spine, but the spinal cord remains largely normal, resulting in <strong data-start=\"964\" data-end=\"997\">comparatively milder symptoms<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1001\" data-end=\"1158\"><strong data-start=\"1001\" data-end=\"1026\">Spina bifida occulta:<\/strong> The <strong data-start=\"1031\" data-end=\"1064\">mildest and often hidden form<\/strong>, involving a small defect in the spine, usually without visible signs or noticeable symptoms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Common symptoms<\/strong> include weakness or paralysis of the legs, loss of sensation in the lower limbs, back pain, and bowel\u2013bladder dysfunction. Some affected children may also develop hydrocephalus, orthopaedic deformities (such as club foot), and urinary incontinence, though intellectual abilities are generally normal.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1513\" data-end=\"1532\"><strong>India Scenario<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1533\" data-end=\"1727\">India records one of the highest prevalence rates of spina bifida globally, with over 25,000 children affected each year, largely due to low awareness and inadequate preventive care.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1729\" data-end=\"1758\"><strong>Prevention and Treatment<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-start=\"1761\" data-end=\"1905\"><strong data-start=\"1761\" data-end=\"1776\">Prevention:<\/strong> More than 70% of cases can be prevented through adequate folic acid intake before conception and during early pregnancy.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1908\" data-end=\"2108\"><strong data-start=\"1908\" data-end=\"1922\">Treatment:<\/strong> There is <strong data-start=\"1932\" data-end=\"1953\">no permanent cure<\/strong>, but timely medical and surgical interventions, along with rehabilitation, can significantly improve survival, functionality, and quality of life.\n<div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"17c83508-b444-42e0-8de7-8196949f31a5\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-2\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[1px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full break-words light markdown-new-styling\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News&#8211; Many countries run folic acid\u2013based awareness programmes to prevent Spina Bifida, but India lacks large-scale efforts. About Spina Bifida Spina Bifida is a congenital birth defect in which the spine and spinal cord do not form completely during early pregnancy. It is one of the leading causes of childhood paralysis, with severity ranging from&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/spina-bifida-role-of-folic-acid\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Spina Bifida &#038; Role of Folic Acid<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10367,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,1738,12039],"tags":[11872],"class_list":["post-353543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-science-and-technology-daily-factly-articles","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10367"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}