– Dr. Vinoth Doraiswamy, Consultant Pediatric Cardiologist, PSG Hospitals
Heart diseases that are present from birth are called Congenital Heart Diseases (CHD). The first 3 months of pregnancy are very important because that is when the organs of the fetus are formed.
When a pregnant mother is sick with any virus infection, takes certain medicines or has any disease like diabetes during this period, it can lead to CHD. In order to prevent CHDs, the mother should go for regular pregnancy check ups, consult a doctor when she develops fever or infection, take only medicines prescribed by the doctor and keep her diabetes under control.
She should not take any medicines on her own or at other’s suggestions.
In these types of high risk groups, a special scan called fetal echocardiography, can be done at 4 – 5 months of pregnancy. Fetal echocardiography can diagnose more than 90% of CHDs in the womb itself and can monitor the heart condition until the baby is born.
In case the baby is born with CHD and the parents are not aware, they can suspect it if the baby has difficulty in breathing, feeding, fails to gain weight, swelling in the body or appears blue in colour. In such a case, the baby should be taken to a paediatric cardiologist immediately.