Question 1

my blood test came back positive for spina bifida, does this means my baby will have this.?

Accepted Answer

Spina bifida: Spina bifida occurs when the spinal bones fail to close properly during early formation. It occurs in about 1 in 1, 000 births and is the most common of the physically disabling congenital abnormalities. A parent who has one child with spina bifida has a greater chance (1 out of a 100) of having another. This increased frequency appears to be due to combined effect of heredity and the environment.

Question 2

what are the tests for spina bifida?

Accepted Answer

Spina bifida: Spina bifida is usually diagnosed by x-ray for MRI of the lower spine. In the new born it can also be done with an ultrasound.

Question 3

what are doctors looking for during an amniocentesis test? spina bifida?

Accepted Answer

Amniotic fluid may : be used for chromosome analysis when screening reveals high risk for Down Syndrome &amp; other trisomies, Chromosomal Microarray to look for smaller genetic mutations &amp;/or Alpha-fetoprotein level when  fetal ultrasounds indicate a neural tube defect. 3rd-trimester amnios are done to test fetal lung maturity &amp;, occasionally, to withdraw excess amniotic fluid.

Question 4

took the afp test. i had excellent harmony results so they are only testing for spina bifida. does this lower the chance of there being a false pos?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Harmony has a detection rate >99% for t21 (down syndrome); and >97% for t18.      Both have a false positive rate of 0.1%

afp is excellent for detecting any form of neural tube defect (including spina bifida).

Question 5

can my child have a normal life with spina bifida? i just found out with prenatal tests that my baby has a severe form of spina bifida. he will most likely be paralyzed. i want to have him anyway, but im scared his life will be too hard.

Accepted Answer

First, : First, every child is a blessing, and quality of life is what you make of it.  Second, it's difficult to determine the severity of deficit on the basis of a prenatal ultrasound.  With a team-oriented approach to care, children with spina bifida can do very well.  One of my personal friends is the chair of neurosurgery at the university of michigan medical center in ann arbor, and she has spina bifida also.  Your baby will likely need surgery within the first view days of life to close the defect with skin to prevent infection.  Your baby may also need a ventriculo-peritoneal or ventriculo-subgaleal shunt - another operation.  Children with spina bifida also have varying degrees of kidney and bowel problems as they get older depending on the severity of the deficit.  Since your location is given as rochester, ny, you might want to get in touch with dr howard silberstein, the pediatric neurosurgeon at strong memorial hospital, which has a comprehensive program for children with spina bifida.

Question 6

i tested positive for afp in my quad test my levels were 1.484 what does that mean? what are the odds of my son having spina bifida or not?

Accepted Answer

AFP and spinal bifid: If the AFP is positive it is best to do an ultrasound of the fetus and if a spina bifida or myelomeningocele is present it can usually be detected by 18 to 20 weeks of fetal age.

Question 7

hiya i was just wondering if a child with spina bifida has different dna by any chance as iv done a paternity test on my sons alleged father and i was so sure he was his and it's come back as he isn't was just curious if the test can be affected by my chi

Accepted Answer

Paternity test is ok: Spina bifida does not affect your child's DNA. The paternity test looks for common parts of DNA between your current boyfriend and the baby.

Question 8

hiya my boy is 8 months old and has spina bifida iv recently done a paternity test for the alleged father and i was 100% sure he was my sons father but its come back as hes not.. can the dna be affected with a child with spina bifida.. can this be a false

Accepted Answer

No: The Dna paternity test cannot be affected by your son's spina bifida. You will have to consider another partner as the biological father.

Question 9

what is spina bifida?

Accepted Answer

Spinal cord disorder: The spinal cord forms as an open tube that starts to close from the middle out to the two ends.  The entire closure is done by about ten weeks.  If the closure is not normal than a condition known as spina bifida occurs.  Open spina bifida is when there is an opening in the spinal column to the skin.  Closed spina bifida is when there is an opening in the spinal column but it has a thin cover.

Question 10

is spina bifida hereditary?

Accepted Answer

Studies show that : the incidence of neural tube defects (NTD's) like open Spina Bifida would decrease by 70%  if all women took 0.4mg of Folic Acid daily from menarche to menopause. However, this dose does not prevent NTD's in offspring of women with variations in several genes involved in folate (folic acid) &amp; homocysteine metabolism. There are also inheritable genetic causes of NTD's that are not related to folate (folic acid) metabolism.

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Doctor answers about:

Test for spina bifida

A member asked:

My blood test came back positive for spina bifida, does this means my baby will have this.?

A member asked:

What are the tests for spina bifida?

A member asked:

What are doctors looking for during an amniocentesis test? spina bifida?

A member asked:

Took the afp test. i had excellent harmony results so they are only testing for spina bifida. does this lower the chance of there being a false pos?

A member asked:

Can my child have a normal life with spina bifida? i just found out with prenatal tests that my baby has a severe form of spina bifida. he will most likely be paralyzed. i want to have him anyway, but im scared his life will be too hard.

A member asked:

I tested positive for afp in my quad test my levels were 1.484 what does that mean? what are the odds of my son having spina bifida or not?

A member asked:

Hiya i was just wondering if a child with spina bifida has different dna by any chance as iv done a paternity test on my sons alleged father and i was so sure he was his and it's come back as he isn't was just curious if the test can be affected by my chi

A member asked:

Hiya my boy is 8 months old and has spina bifida iv recently done a paternity test for the alleged father and i was 100% sure he was my sons father but its come back as hes not.. can the dna be affected with a child with spina bifida.. can this be a false

A member asked:

What is spina bifida?

A member asked:

Is spina bifida hereditary?

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