Introduction

Anencephaly. If you know what it is, it's a word you hope NEVER to hear when it comes to your baby. If you don't, then this blog will educate you. This deformity is more then just a deformity. It is a devastating, heartbreaking, take-your-breath-away, defect that begins to develop as soon as a child begins to develop. Learning your baby has this leaves you with decision nobody should ever have to make concerning their child, but unfortunately, are forced too. So, let's dive in & I'll tell you all the gory medical facts about this heartbreaking defect.

What Is It

Anencephaly is a birth defect that is classified as a Neural Tube Defect Like all NTDs it begins within the first month of pregnancy, before the woman knows of her pregnancy. The Neural Tube is the brain & skull (Upper Neural Tube) & spine & back bones (Lower Neural Tube).
Anencephaly happens if the Upper part of the Neural Tube fails to close completely. The resulting baby, if carried to term, will be born with no forebrain (front part of the brain) & no cerebrum (portion of brain that controls thinking & coordination). In most cases, the remaining parts of brain that DID form are completely visible due to the failure of the skull & skin to develop over it.

Symptoms

Blindness, Deafness, Unconciousness, Unable to feel pain, Dead at birth, Death soon after birth, large portions of brain is absent, brainstem is malformed, Skull that normally covers brain is absent, Scalp that normally covers brain is absent.
Anencephaly is usually caught very early in the pregnancy, but in the cases that are not caught before birth, it is immediately recognizable after the baby is born.

Causes

There are several POSSIBLE causes. Lack of folic acid before or directly after getting pregnant increases the risk of having a baby with ANY Neural Tube Defect, including Anencephaly. Hispanic women are at an increased risk of having a baby with Anencephaly, the causes for this increased risk is unknown though. Those are the only known causes as of right now. Anencephaly is NOT hereditary. If a mother delivers a baby with Anencephaly 1 time, the chances of having another baby with the same condition are no more then it was the first time.

Treatment

There is no cure for babies with Anencephaly. Unfortunately, there is no treatment either. Babies born with Anencephaly almost ALWAYS die within the first few minutes after birth. (I personally know of 1 exception, I'll add a youtube video of him).

Conclusion

As we all know, you can't survive without a brain. There is, 1 exception to this rule-of-thumb. His name is Nicholas Coke. He was born with no brain, & as of 1 year ago, he celebrated his 2nd birthday....with no brain. He was born & survived with Anencephaly. As far as I know, this is the ONLY known case of a baby born with Complete Anencephaly to survive.

Nicholas Coke