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WHAT IS ANENCEPHALY?

Anencephaly, sometimes referred to as 'open skull', is a rare birth defect.

It causes parts of a foetus' brain, scalp and skull to not form completely.

The defect occurs during the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy, according to Cleveland Clinic.

It happens when the neural tube, a channel in the foetus that normally closes to form the spinal cord and brain, doesn't close as it should. 

As a result, children with anencephaly are born without part of their skull and brain. They are often blind and deaf. 

Babies with the defect, which strikes one in 5,000 babies each year, tend to die within weeks. There is no cure. 

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