Fetal spina bifida: What we tell the parents
Lara Gotha, Vagisha Pruthi, Nimrah Abbasi, Abhaya V. Kulkarni, Paige Church, James M. Drake, Jose C. A. Carvalho, Yenge Diambomba, Varsha Thakur, Greg Ryan, Tim Van Mieghem
Abstract
Worldwide, about 150 000 infants are born with spina bifida yearly, making this condition one of the most common fetal central nervous system anomalies compatible with life. Over the last decade, major changes have been introduced in the prenatal diagnosis and management of spina bifida. In this review, we provide a brief summary of the current management of fetal spina bifida and present essential information that should be provided to expecting parents when their fetus has been diagnosed with spina bifida. This information is focused around common parental questions, as encountered in our typical clinical practice, to facilitate knowledge translation.