Myelomeningocele: a review of the epidemiology, genetics, risk factors for conception, prenatal diagnosis, and prognosis for affected individuals.

Unlabelled: Although the use of folic acid before conception decreases the chance that a fetus will have an open neural tube defect, this condition still affects 0.5-1.0/1000 pregnancies in the United States.

Obstetrician-gynecologists' practice and knowledge regarding spina bifida.

The purpose was to assess practicing obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge about the prenatal diagnosis and postnatal prognosis of spina bifida. Written questionnaires designed to assess practicing obstetrician-gynecologists' knowledge of spina bifida were mailed to 1000 randomly selected American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Fellows. More than 50% did not identify many of the sonographic features indicative of an open neural tube defect in the fetus and more than one third overestimated the risks of stillbirth, whereas more than two thirds overestimated the risk for premature delivery in a pregnancy complicated by fetal spina bifida.