Anyone with a congenital heart defect?

kld2e

Hi.  I'm in my 2nd trimester and have a congenital heart defect.  I was just wondering if there is anyone else with a similar condition?  If so....How far along are you?  What are your doctors' recommendations as far as delivery goes? 

KYmama9286

I dont have any experience but I just wanted to comment of the bible verse in your siggy--its one of my favs and has been my memory verse for this pregnancy! So good!

Skruffy

which CHD do you have? I do not have one but had a DD born with one. Do you have any suspicions that your child may have one too? We are extremely high risk for baby #2 having a CHD. 3 out of our 4 parents were born with heart problems, and our first child was too. 

kld2e

I was born with a hole in my heart which they did not repair until I was 4 years old.  At the time of that surgery they discovered I have a condition called mitral valve regurgitation which has been closely monitored on a yearly basis since then with little change.  My OB says there is a higher risk of my baby having a heart defect, but my cardiologist does not seem as concerned.  I am seeing a High Risk OB to monitor the baby just in case.  No one else in my family has ever had a similar condition, so the likelihood of my child having the same seems slim according to my docs.  Honestly, I never knew there was a genetic link.

 

Skruffy

genetics does increase the chance of having a baby with a heart defect. The normal stat is 1%. But when you have one, it increases. I found a site once with actual stats, I'll see if I can find it again. The risk is still pretty small. 

Skruffy

Found it:

Normal risk is 1% 

*if you have had 1 child with a CHD, your risk of having another can be up to 5%

*if you've had 2 children with CHD, your risk of having another goes up to 10%

*if the father has a CHD the risk is 3% 

*if the mother has CHD the risk can go up to 18%

Some heart defects are considered to have autosomal-dominant inheritance; meaning that a parent with the defect has a 50 percent chance with each pregnancy, to have a child with a similar heart defect, and males and females are equally affected. Conversely, there is also a 50 percent chance that an offspring will not be affected. Consultation with a genetic counselor or genetic specialist is encouraged for women with congenital heart disease before becoming pregnant. In families with CHD either in the parents or offspring, fetal echocardiography can be performed in the second trimester, at about 18 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, to determine the presence of major heart defects in the fetus. 

 

Skruffy

I promise, last post and I will stop!

I think if you had an ASD or VSD that was repaired at 4, that will not be a factor. The mitral valve thing means they will probably monitor your heart very closely during labor. If you start showing an increased or decreased heart rate that is out of the norm, they will probably push for a c-section. I think that would be the only factor for you during delivery. Good luck! I would push for an extra look at the heart when you get your big ultrasound, and you may even want to ask your OB if he wants to send you to a perinatologist for it.

kld2e

Thanks for the all the info.  I definitely will be asking more questions when I go to the doc on Monday.  Good luck to you too!