Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to mitochondrial damage, and nutritional deficiencies like vitamin B6, iron, and folate, which affects the mitochondria's ability to form heme.
Other risk factors for having a child with spina bifida include obesity, poorly controlled diabetes, and taking medications that interfere with folate metabolism, like certain anti-seizure medications.
Now, the exact cause of all three types of spina bifida isn't known, but there are known risk factors like folate or Vitamin B9 deficiency during fetal development.