Anacephaly? Genetic?

[MamaBrundage]

Hi im 4wks along with #3 and this last year my cousin was pregnant and at her 20wk u/s when she was supposed to find out the sex of her baby she in stead found out the baby had anacephaly (her scull hadnt formed) and would not survive outside the womb. She had to abort at 5mnth which was obviously a horiable experiance! She is now pregnant again due in sept with a healthy baby boy! :) So im wondering if anacephaly is genetic? Is there anything I can do to prevent it? I figure im very early in pregnancy so maybe I can do something extra to insure it doesnt happen. I dont want to ask my cousin because I hate to bring up her loss.
Any info is appreciated!

[corbynsmommy]

Two years ago I went for my u/s and found out my son had it I had to give birth at almost 5 months because they said even if I carried him full term he would only live mins .....no its nothing genetic but once u have been through it there are precautions u have to take such as the b 12 and folic acid ...wednesday I gave birth to a very healthy baby boy

[mikaleen]

anencephaly is a neural tube defect like spina bifida.  Women are told to take folic acid, which has been shown to decrease chances of neural tube defects by up to 85 percent.  If you are ta higher risk the Dr. will have you take a larger amount.  My brother had spina bifida so I was told to take 1000mg on top of what was in my prenatal vitamin.  There is a small increase of risk when a family member has a neural tube defect, or a child with one, but it's more like first degree relatives, mom, brother, sister.  I don't believe your risk would be any higher with a cousin.

[MamaBrundage]

Thank you! That gives me some piece of mind il find out exactly what b vitamin it is.and.stat taking it.
Thanks again!

[Des_a_rae]

I did find this and hope it helps!  


How do people inherit anencephaly?

Most cases of anencephaly are sporadic, which means they occur in people with no history of the disorder in their family. A small percentage of cases have been reported to run in families; however, the condition does not have a clear pattern of inheritance. For parents who have had a child with anencephaly, the risk of having another affected child is increased compared to the risk in the general population.

[Des_a_rae]

Hi there, sooo sorry to hear about your cousin but so glad to hear she has a new HEALTHY baby on the way.  My best friend had a baby yrs ago that was diagnosed with anacephaly and even though she went the whole 9 months and gave birth, her baby passed away about 15 minutes later.  They told her that IF she EVER thought about getting pregnant again to start taking B12 (don't quote me on that but it's a B vitamin) about 3 months before she started trying again. She now has 2 boys. :)  I'm not sure if it's genetic or not. She has several cousins and they all have healthy babies.  Is there anyway you can ask your OB about it?  I pray you have a wonderful pregnancy experience and go on to have a healthy baby :).