Guidance

Spina bifida: information for parents

Information for pregnant women whose baby may have spina bifida, including treatment options.

• From: NHS England
• Published: 18 February 2019
• Last updated: 9 July 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 9 July 2026

     Added translations in 10 languages: Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Simplified Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Punjabi and Urdu.

  2. 6 March 2026

     Added information on requesting other formats.

  3. 3 February 2025

     Changed lead organisation to NHS England. Removed references to PHE.

  4. 9 March 2020

     Replaced PDF with an updated HTML version.

  5. 18 February 2019

     First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Spina bifida: information for parents

HTML

Details

This leaflet explains spina bifida, a condition screened for by the NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme.

Information in the leaflet includes:

• what spina bifida is, and how common it is
• how the condition is diagnosed and confirmed
• what treatment is available
• what the outlook for the baby is
• what happens next
• how likely it is to happen in future pregnancies

To request another format, you can phone 0300 311 22 33 or email england.contactus@nhs.net.