Anencephaly is a birth defect in which the brain and bones of the skull don’t form completely while the baby is in the womb. As a result, the baby’s brain, particularly the cerebral cortex, develops minimally. The cerebral cortex is the part of the brain primarily responsible for thinking, movement, and senses, including touch, vision, and hearing.
Anencephaly is considered a neural tube defect. The neural tube is a narrow shaft that normally closes during fetal development and forms the brain and spinal cord. This usually happens by the fourth week of pregnancy, but if it doesn’t, the result can be anencephaly.
This incurable condition affects about three pregnancies per 10,000 in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)Trusted Source. In about 75 percent of cases, the baby is stillborn. Other babies born with anencephaly may only survive a few hours or days.
In many cases, a pregnancy involving a neural tube defect ends in miscarriage.
Source: #healthline