Australian-first surgery on baby in womb

A mother and child are doing well after Australian-first spinal surgery on the baby while it was still in the womb.

The 24-week-old fetus was diagnosed with spina bifida, a condition that affects one in 2000 pregnancies in Australia, during an ultrasound.

Surgeons from Queensland's Mater Hospital and Vanderbilt University Hospital in the US carried out the in-utero operation in Brisbane on Saturday.

Director of Mater's maternal fetal medicine Glenn Gardener said the surgery went as well as could have been hoped and both mother and baby were OK.

Dr Gardener said while the surgery was not a cure for spina bifida, it did significantly improve the outcome for babies diagnosed with the condition.

Spina bifida is a serious birth defect that prevents a fetus's spine and spinal cord from developing normally.

It can lead to paralysis and other complications and is normally treated with surgery once a baby is born.