Spina Bifida Awareness occurred during the month of October. The Spina Bifida community was asked to wear teal in order to draw attention to this sickness.

Spina Bifida (SB) is a birth defect that primarily affects the spine and can have lasting effects such as numbness, loss of some motor capabilities, intestinal problems, urinary problems and even paralyzation. A higher population of children born with SB have learning, social or mental disabilities compared to those born without SB. Some sufferers show little to no signs of SB, while others may be fully paralyzed from it. The majority with the disease will most likely have a shortened life span, around 30 to 40 years old, while a significant portion of the SB population will die before they even reach adulthood due to problems caused from their disease.

Even though closely compared to Scoliosis due to the spinal problems, Spina Bifida is diagnosed directly at birth or, more typically, while the baby is still developing in the womb, as opposed to Scoliosis where many are diagnosed in their childhood or early teen years. SB is caused due to the fetuses inability to properly develop their spinal cord.

There is no known cure for SB. The best treatment for a sufferer is to have surgeries to try to fuse the spinal cord back together; as well as treatments to help manage symptoms, such as physical therapy, swimming aerobics and medication. Many people with the disease will have spinal surgery every couple of years, with more severe cases having annual surgery. Recovery from these surgeries can be very painful and take a long time, with the majority having to sleep in partial or full body casts and move around in a wheelchair. Back and leg braces, along with walking sticks, canes or strollers, are often used to walk. More intense cases will even require the sufferer to permanently use a wheelchair. Others may also require a catheter due to widespread urinary problems as well difficulties due to numbness and/or paralyzation below the waist.

The awareness month is beneficial because many do not know what SB is. Marathons, or Walk-N-Rolls are held in major cities such as Atlanta and Montgomery. These are events where many sufferers will roll in their wheelchair for one mile, with advocates and those with less severe cases walking. Money is raised for local community programs as well as donated to national research.