I am of Irish descent.
My sister who is one and one half years younger than me was involved in an automobile accident while in college; X-rays were taken. She sustained no bone damage from the automobile accident, however, the ER doctor told my mom incidentally that my sister had a spinal bifida occulta. My sister was and is a very healthy and active person. She could have lived a lifetime without knowing this.
Years later when I was pregnant with my first child, I made sure I ate extremely well, taking all of my vitamins (yes, folic acid also), minerals, fresh green and yellow vegetables, fresh and citrus fruits, fresh raw milk, butter and cheese. I avoided sugars, alcohol, and potatoes.
Yes, potatoes. I had read that the spinal bifida rate had risen extremely high in Ireland during the Potato Famine of the mid-nineteenth century. No one seems to quite know exactly why. I wanted maximum health for my child. She was born at home, healthy, on time, with an apgar of 9-10. We had regular pediatric visits, no vaccinations, ever.
She has since lived an active life of sports, dancing and gymnastics.
She is twenty-four now. She has been complaining about a backache for a long time, so she went to the chiropractic practice I had been to as a pregnant mama for a few visits.
He finally told her that he could not longer help her, that she needed to find someone who could.
She cried.
She was devastated.
She went to another chiropractor who X-rayed her and told her she had a spinal bifida occulta.
I was stunned!
She was advised to do certain exercises, and an herbalist advised a cleanse of some sort.
She is doing much better.
I am shocked, however.
Are spinal bifida occulta or spinal bifida as conditions hereditary or is the susceptibility present and only occurs when the deficiencies or conditions are present?
I was under the impression that it was a birth defect that occurred with nutritional deficiencies.
Am I wrong?
What happened?

Yes, it's true that a deficiency of folic acid during fetal growth can cause neural tube defects like spina bifida. Genetics could be a possiblity but no one really knows for sure and they have linked it more closely to diet. It's really not a major concern unless it causes symptoms (loss of bladder and bowel control, neurological deficits etc). About 20% of the general public have it and most don't even know it. You should be aware of the area of involvement to avoid blows to that area etc. Your daughter's back ache is probably due to the fact that she was never aware of the condition and went through life accordingly and ended up putting too much stress into the area. It is good that she is seeing a chiropractor.
You have to consider the possibility that though you were taking all your vitamins and eating healthy while pregnant that the folic acid supplements were being digested and broken down before your body could use them. The folic acid structure is too fragile to be put through the harsh acid environment of the stomach and then the harsh alkaline environment of the gut. I was extremely folic acid deficient in my 8th month despite the fact I was also taking supplements and eating very healthy. I got a folic acid cream supplement (so it was absorbed through my skin thus bypasing the digestive system) and only then did my levels return to normal.

Not a chiro, but a student midwife. Having appropriate levels of folic acid will prevent most cases of neural tube defects, but there are some that will always occur.
I have a problem with the way the information is being given, that folic acid prevents neural tube defects, when the truth is that folic acid prevents most defects, but the best nutrition possible isn't going to be 100%.
Being of irish or english decent is a risk factor, but they don't know if it's truly a genetic risk yet.

I know I was extremely healthy. My hemoglobin counts were 14.1 and above and my hematacrit were always 42.5 and above. I know that folic acid works hand in hand with ferrous gluconate and copper supplements with ascorbic acid to keep the blood oxygenating and healthy.
I know I did the very best I could.
I do know that some birth defects are of idiopathic origin, i.e., we do not know where it comes from or how it happened.

BTW, willemsmama, my Father of blessed memory was a Chiropractor for forty years.

My father has spina bifida occulta and because of chiropractic care was able to function quite normally. He went on the become a chiropractor. There is some heriditary part of spina bifida. My son, who will be born in Oct/Nov was diagnosed in utero with spina bifida. His is a more severe form, so we will combine surgery and chiropractic. I didn't know about folic acid-- my doctor never mentioned it.
Anyway, my dad is beginning to consider himself a bit of an expert, both personally and due to large amounts of research the last few months...
If you want to contact him, here is his email: Dr. Mike Watts

Just mention that you met his daughter, Lissa online.

Good luck with your baby. It sounds to me as you are prepared and have a plan. I refused ultrasound with all of my children since no one could assure me there were not any long term effects. My mom received a prescription for DES before I was born, and was assured by her doctor it was nothing more than a vitamin pill; what a huge lie - DES has been found to affect even the great-grandchildren of DES mothers.
I worried about every little thing when I was pregnant with her. I took my vitamins scrupulously and watched my diet carefully. I exercised alot, even jogging up to the 38th week. I stopped jogging not because of the pregnancy, but because there was a smog alert and heat wave. I went to the gym the day before she was born.
I was so conscientious! Why did this happen???