A new bill up for debate could help reduce the risk of birth defects. The bill looks to fortify enriched grain products with ...

A woman in the United Kingdom claims she has undergone what is known as “fetal repair” surgery after learning about her baby's diagnosis of spina bifida, a birth defect that affects the spine. Bethan ...

Getting ready for pregnancy? Don’t forget this essential check: your folic acid levels. It’s a small step that plays a big ...

Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, is an important B-vitamin with many vital functions in the human body. It was ...

Mutations in a gene known as interferon regulatory factor 6 that cause cleft lip and palate also are implicated in neural tube defects such as spina bifida, suggests new research. Mutations in a gene ...

The FDA has warned of serious cases of neural tube birth defects involving the brain, spine, and spinal cord affecting babies born to women with HIV being treated with dolutegravir. The FDA has issued ...

Spinal cord disorders like spina bifida arise during early development when future spinal cord cells growing in a flat layer fail to roll up into a tube. In the Dec. 6 issue of Nature Cell Biology, ...

CHICAGO (AP) -- The United States has seen a 19 percent drop in the number of children born with certain spinal and brain defects since the government began requiring that folic acid be added to flour ...

Newborns, whose brains, spines or spinal cords do not properly develop in utero, can be born with neural tube defects (NTD), increasing their risk of physical disabilities, intellectual impairments ...

Here, a dietitian talks us through the science behind the new policy that makes folic acid fortification mandatory in ...