Phase two of the Management of Myelomeningocele Study, known as “MOMS2: Follow up of the Management Of Myelomeningocele Study,” is a multicenter study monitoring the health outcomes of the children and mothers who participated in the randomized trial. (Learn more about phase one of the MOMS trial.)

Sponsored by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the study was a collaborative effort, involving researchers from CHOP, University of Pittsburgh, George Washington University Biostatistics Center, University of Houston, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, University of California, Davis, and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The purpose of MOMS 2 was to compare the long-term effects of prenatal surgery and postnatal surgery for myelomeningocele with respect to the child’s adaptive behavior, physical and cognitive function, health and well-being, and the future reproductive health of the mother.

In January 2020, after following those two groups of patients for up to 10 years after birth, researchers in the follow-up MOMS2 trial have shown those benefits continue into childhood.

MOMS2 study findings

Findings reported in Pediatrics show significant physical and emotional benefits a decade later in school-age children who received corrective surgery in the womb for myelomeningocele, the most severe form of spina bifida. The study findings provide valuable insight into the lasting outcomes of prenatal repair versus standard postnatal repair, and provide both clinical teams and families with additional information to make better informed choices about the treatment options available.

Read the article: "Prenatal Repair of Myelomeningocele and School-age Functional Outcomes."

The work continues in phase three of the study. Read more: "Follow-up in the Teen and Young Adult Years to the Management of Myelomeningocele Study: MOMS3."