A couple in Pece Vanguard, Laroo-Pece Division in Gulu city is in shock and traumatised after giving birth to a child with encephalocele compilation condition.
Encephalocele is rare forms of neural tube defects which are characterized by the herniation of brain tissue through a congenital defect in the skull.
Sharon Lakaraber, (27) and her husband Morish Ogenrwot gave birth to the child on Thursday last week at Aywer Health Centre III in Gulu City. The baby and the mother were later referred to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital Neonatal Intensive care unit for better management.
Speaking to Mega Fm in an interview Lakeraber said she is still traumatised after giving birth to her fourth child [baby girl] with that strange condition.
Dr. Florence Oyella Otim, a Pediatrician at Neonatal Ward says the deformity comes when the mother fails to take folic acid which helps so much in the development of babies while still in the womb. According to Oyella, such birth defect occurs early in a woman’s pregnancy when part of the baby’s skull does not close all the way, leaving part of the baby’s brain to come through the hole in the skull.
Sometimes, part of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) also come through the hole in the skull.
According to Oyella, the hospital is working closely with AVSI Uganda to take the child for specialized treatment at Cure Children center In Mbale City.
