Anencephaly is a birth defect involving the brain.
Anencephaly is sometimes seen to run in families, and for parents who have conceived one anencephalic fetus, the risk of a second is as high as 5 percent.
Anencephaly is the most common severe malformation seen in stillborn births.
Fewer than half of babies with anencephaly are born alive, and survival beyond the first month is rare.
Folate intake during pregnancy also protects against neural tube birth defects, which can result in spina bifida and anencephaly.
Genetic counseling is advisable for parents who have had one child with anencephaly, since the likelihood of having another is increased.
If this tube forms incompletely during the first few months of pregnancy, a serious, and often fatal, defect results in spina bifida or anencephaly (formation of the head without the brain).
Low levels of folate are linked to serious neurological birth defects including spina bifida and anencephaly.
Neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly are being researched as possible defects where environmental states may affect the development of the fetus as well as genetics.
One such congenital brain anomaly, anencephaly (literally "without brain") results when the topmost portion of the tube fails to close and the brain does not develop.
Prenatal diagnosis of neural tube defects causing anencephaly or meningomyelocele is possible through ultrasound examination and maternal blood testing for alpha-fetoprotein, which is almost always elevated.
Some congenital brain anomalies, such as anencephaly, are not compatible with life, and fetuses affected by them will die.
Taking a prenatal vitamin with folic acid is thought to reduce the risk of your baby developing anencephaly or spina bifida by 50 to 70 percent.
These types of defects include spinal column defects (spina bifida) and anencephaly (a severe and usually fatal brain abnormality).