# Neural tube defects (fetus)

Condition · id `maternal:neural-tube-defects` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `fc5a600ec7387e71` (public)

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Browse, life stage: Pregnancy; Newborn  
Browse, care area: The baby before birth  

## In plain language

Neural tube defects are birth defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord. They start in the first month of pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. The two most common are spina bifida and anencephaly. Getting enough folic acid before and during pregnancy prevents most of them. There is no cure; the damage that is present at birth is usually permanent, although treatments can sometimes prevent further damage and help with complications. They are usually found before the baby is born, through lab or imaging tests.

## Technical summary

This is a condition of the fetus, so the atlas files it under the fetal development care area. The MedlinePlus health topic page (last updated September 16, 2025) supplies the plain description. A 2023 evidence update for a US screening statement (JAMA) opens by calling neural tube defects among the most common birth defects in the United States. Evidence that folic acid prevents them is on the folic acid supplementation page; the MRC Vitamin Study result there applies to women who had a previous affected pregnancy.

## Connected pages

- The fetal development page: Fetal development (`maternal:fetal-development`)
- Filed under this front: Prevention and nutrition (`maternal:front-prevention-and-nutrition`)
- Evaluated for this: Folic acid supplementation before and in early pregnancy (`maternal:folic-acid-supplementation`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `maternal:claim-mrc-ntd-recurrence` and its context]
- Investigated in: MRC Vitamin Study (1991) (`maternal:mrc-vitamin-study`)

## Provenance

Content hash: 524ece2596225d88121d78b974e87435f775b5b4664fd70f5fef5a7f93aa9729
Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14
Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14