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Heart disease during pregnancy can present a wide spectrum of potential issues. From simple cardiac complications like palpitations, or heart “fluttering,” to advanced heart failure eventually requiring hospitalization, heart conditions in pregnant women can be complex and dangerous. Some symptoms may arise from the regular changes that take place during a normal pregnancy, such as extra heartbeats and shortness of breath due to the growth of the placenta and uterus. However, it’s vital for your physician to recognize when something is out of the ordinary.
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Playful giggles and smiling faces were the sights and sounds these parents never expected to experience. The kids playing and laughing together was refreshing to watch, as these children had been spending quite a bit of time in a hospital bed at one moment or another. In early December, families who connected through Texas Children’s Hospital’s inpatient Heart Center floors and Texas Children’s Fetal Center planned a Christmas party to celebrate not only the holiday, but being out of the hospital together on that special day.
Our families share a special bond. Each of us has a child with a congenital heart defect (CHD) who has been treated at the no. 1 hospital in...
When my husband and I got married in July 2016, we knew we wanted to get pregnant right away. God blessed us on Sept. 14, when news of my expectancy arrived. We excitedly began planning for the newest arrival to our family, and dreamed of what our future would look like.
On Dec. 21, 2016, we went in for my anatomy ultrasound near the 16-week-mark of my pregnancy. My physician had told me he would see me at my next appointment, unless something abnormal showed up on the ultrasound. I kept sensing an uneasy feeling during the week leading up to the ultrasound, as if something was wrong, but I was assured that these were just “first-time mom” feelings.
During...
Texas Children’s Fetal Center® is a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of a rare birth defect called lower urinary tract obstruction, also known as LUTO or bladder outlet obstruction. LUTO occurs in around 2.2 of every 10,000 births, usually in males.
LUTO is a partial or complete blockage of the urethra, the tube that allows urine to exit the bladder and empty into the amniotic sac.
Babies require amniotic fluid for proper lung maturity following birth. In a baby with severe LUTO, lower levels of amniotic fluid could lead to underdeveloped lungs – a serious condition called pulmonary hypoplasia. Since the urethra is obstructed, urine overfills in the...
We went in for my 22-week ultrasound on March 29, 2017. To describe how we were feeling…excited was an understatement. We already knew the baby’s gender at the 13-week mark, but this was the sonogram that would confirm the baby was indeed a boy. It was instantly confirmed; we were having a boy! When we received this exciting update, we were brought down quickly by some other unexpected news. I will never forget the look on our ultrasound technician’s face when she was performing the sonogram. She stopped speaking to us, and was wearing a concerned expression. When she finished the sonogram, she escorted us to a tiny, cold room, and told us a physician would come in soon to...
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