Hi everyone, my name is Ziyah M and at 17 weeks pregnant I had an abnormal ultrasound. From the ultrasound the doctors at Emory determined that the baby has a neural tube defect. We then discovered our baby was diagnosed with spina bifida. Spina bifida is a birth defect in which the baby’s spinal cord fails to develop or close properly while in the womb. When we first found out a piece of me broke because I wasn’t expecting that kind of news. Every part of me thought I did something wrong but the doctors explained there isn’t anything you could have did it just happens. The great news is that they now

have surgeries to close the defect before birth in 2011 that’s when the MOMS trial came about and it was found that infants who undergo surgery in utero had a decrease need for shunting and improved motor function when compared to those who had surgery after birth. Open fetal surgery is a very delicate procedure where the fetal surgeons open the uterus and close the opening in the baby’s back while still in the womb. This gives the baby a fighting chance! This surgery isn’t offered in Atlanta,GA so we would have to travel to Texas in May to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital where they have successfully performed numerous open fetal surgeries with great results. We would essentially have to relocate to Texas for not just the surgery but for the birth because of the severity of the situation. Due to the severity of the open fetal surgery I will be on permanent bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy and would have to have several appointments following the surgery. I would be abandoning my doctors in Atlanta, GA because it’s best for us as a family to move to Texas to deliver via C-Section at 37 weeks since they did the initial surgery in utero. Then from there the baby goes to the NICU for further testing and our journey with Baby A begins. We are asking and greatly appreciate any help/donation on this journey we are about to undergo as an SB family moving to Texas!