It is the failure of normal closure of the skull and spine during the first trimester.

One of the flaws, spina bifida, the spinal cord does not protected and usually this causes some degree of paralysis and loss of some functions. The closure of skull defects are most serious, and very often result in stillbirth or newborn.

Defects in neural tube closure occur in our population, about 1 in 1,000 births, the risk is higher when close relatives are affected and in pregnant women with insulin dependent diabetes