Clinical utility of folate-containing oral contraceptives

Figures & data

Table 1 Categories of neural tube defects, their causes and prognosis

	Anencephaly	Encephalocele	Spina bifida
Cause	Failure of closure of the anterior (cranial) neural arch	Failure of closure of the anterior (cranial) neural arch at a later stage of embryogenesis than anencephaly	Failure of closure of the posterior (cranial) vertebral arch
Prognosis	Stillbirth or neonatal death	Mortality from meningitis	Disability ranges from Neurological: sensory and motor defects, learning disability and epilepsy Orthopedics: contractures, joint dislocations, and talipes Functional: bladder and bowel dysfunction