Understanding Risk Factors and Causes

CDC wants to find ways to prevent births affected by spina bifida. To do that, we need to know what causes it. Research gives us important clues about things that might raise or lower the risk of having a baby affected by spina bifida. Those clues help us develop sound public health policies for prevention.

CDC works with many other researchers to study risk factors that can increase the chance of having a baby affected by spina bifida. Research has found:

• Taking folic acid before getting pregnant and in early pregnancy lowers the risk of having a pregnancy affected by spina bifida.
• There has been a 27% decline in pregnancies affected by neural tube defects (spina bifida and anencephaly) since the United States began fortifying enriched grains with folic acid. 
• Babies born to Hispanic mothers are at an increased risk for spina bifida.³
• Maternal obesity is significantly associated with spina bifida (doubles the risk).