The spina bifida It has a great presence, especially in children. Prevention is key and in Mexico, certain protocols have been established to achieve its eradication among the child population.
If during pregnancy, the mother ingests sufficient folic acid daily, the risk of spina bifida can be reduced. reduce by up to 70 percent. That is why Mexican doctors (and in many countries around the world), as soon as they learn of their patient’s pregnancy, prescribe this supplement.
Folic acid is recommended for women of reproductive age
In Mexico, specifically, since 1992, the Health Secretary recommends the intake of 0.4 mg/day of folic acid for women of reproductive age. In 1995, folic acid was added to cereals and, in 1998, 0.140 mg of folic acid per 100 mg of flour was added to commercial flours. This makes 0.1 mg/day added to the normal diet. Later, it was increased to 0.350 mg/100 mg of flour.
With this new measure, in the five years following this state folic acid supplementation campaign, 115,992 births were registered. Among them, there were 108 cases with neura tube defects, which corresponds to a rate of 9.33 per 10 thousand births, demonstrating a 63.4% reduction in spina bifida.
The neurosurgeon must evaluate the diagnosis of spina bifida
Currently, it is also used ultrasound ultrasound to detect spina bifida. Detection rates through this method are around 100%, due to the presence of easily recognizable cranial signs such as those known as “lemon” or “banana”.
It is recommended to perform ultrasound in search of structural anomalies (such as spina bifida) in the pregnant women between weeks 13 and 24 of gestation. In women with risk factors for neurotubal defects, it is preferable to perform state-of-the-art ultrasounds, due to their high definition.
Finally, it should be noted that, when carrying out the prenatal diagnosis of open or closed spina bifida, the mother must be sent for evaluation by the neurosurgeon, who will individualize each case and make an individual management plan.