How is the child affected by genital or urinary tract defects?
The symptoms of urinary and genital birth defects vary. Often children born with this kind of defect are prone to urinary tract infections, high blood pressure, and other problems. A baby born with a single kidney (unilateral renal agenesis) may be at increased risk for high blood pressure, kidney stones, or kidney failure. Hydronephrosis, caused by a blockage in the urinary tract, can cause kidney failure. Children with bladder extrophy or epispadias may have bladder-control problems. A child born with ambiguous genitals may suffer significant psychological stress. Many genital and urinary tract defects can be painful.

What are the treatments for genital or urinary tract defects?
There are many successful surgical options to treat birth defects involving the genitals and urinary tract. In fact, some surgeries can be performed even before the baby is born. For example, significant hydronephrosis is diagnosed in about one in 500 pregnancies during a prenatal ultrasound examination. Sometimes, doctors will opt to insert a small tube into the fetus's bladder to reduce the kidney swelling. Prenatal treatment of these kinds of obstructions has been the most successful form of fetal surgery to date. Other surgeries are available to affected babies, in infancy or early childhood, to correct the different kinds of defects. Some children require multiple surgeries to achieve normal urinary and genital function. Sometimes, as in the case of ambiguous genitals, psychological counseling is recommended in addition to surgical intervention.

Spina Bifida

What is spina bifida?
Spina bifida is the most common of a group of birth defects called neural tube defects. The neural tube is the part of the embryo that eventually develops into the brain and spinal cord. The neural tube forms early in pregnancy, by the 28th day after conception. When something goes wrong in this process and the neural tube does not close properly, the spinal cord and sometimes the vertebrae do not develop normally. The backbone and spinal cord can be affected.

How common is spina bifida?
Spina bifida is one of the most common severe birth defects, affecting approximately one in 2,000 babies. Spina bifida is usually an isolated birth defect. Almost all babies born with spina bifida and other neural tube defects are born to parents with no family history of these problems. Still, scientists to believe there are both genetic and environmental factors at work. Spina bifida occurs more frequently among Hispanics and whites of European descent; it is less common among African-Americans and Asians. Women with certain chronic health conditions, including diabetes and seizure disorders, have an increased risk of having a baby with spina bifida.