Spina bifida is a congenital anomaly that occurs 1.5 to 4 times per 1,000 live births. There are between 6,000-8,000 children born each year with spina bifida in the United States. Children with spina bifida comprise the second largest group of physically handicapped children in England's special schools. Children with spina bifida often have four coexisting sets of impairments: paralysis or weakness below the level of lesion, loss of skin sensation below the level of lesion, incontinence of bowel and bladder, and hydrocephalus in 65-75% of the cases. It is not surprising that during the first 9 years of life that the child with spina bifida will spend an average of 28 weeks receiving inpatient medical treatment and that the typical family will spend about $20,000 on medical care during the child's first 8 years of life. Thus, spina bifida is a chronic health condition that is not only prevalent but one with massive economic consequences as well. (Bernie Spain, Elizabeth M. Anderson, 1982)
The study of health and behavior in children with congenital anomalies raises a subset of issues that are different from those that are pertinent to either adults or non-disabled children. There are no cures for those who are born with the over 2,400 different congenital anomalies that have already been classified, e.g., Tay Sachs disease, spina bifida, Downs syndrome, muscular dystrophy, etc.. There are over two million children in the United States with inherited impairments that restrict their activities. To these people, an important issue that needs to be examined is given the impact of this chronic condition on behavior what can be done to enhance quality of life? In other words, those in the health and behavior fields have typically looked at behavior as a means of maintaining or ameliorating health. (Hagberg B, 1962).
Spina bifida is a medical condition that is the consequence of the defective formation of the neural tube..................
