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Pregnancy
During pregnancy, a woman's body goes through many changes, which may bring on or worsen the symptoms of a heart defect. This is especially true in the second and third trimesters. The mother's condition also can put the fetus at risk for poor growth or other problems. Some commonly prescribed heart disease medications pose added risks to the fetus. For some types of heart disease, especially those associated with pulmonary hypertension or significant ventricular dysfunction, pregnancy creates significant risk for the mother. In such cases, doctors would advise the woman not to have a baby.
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With proper care, however, most women with congenital heart disease can successfully bear children. Prior to conception, women need to seek medical advice to fully assess the potential risk to the mother and baby. Proper medical advice will require assembling a team including the congenital cardiologist, a high-risk obstetrician, and possibly a local cardiologist and a genetic counselor as well. The multidisciplinary team will determine the best way to manage the pregnancy, the best way to deliver the baby, and whether there's need for special postpartum care for the mother.
In many cases, the team may recommend that the pregnancy be monitored by a high-risk obstetrician, as well as a cardiologist familiar with her condition.
In general, the risk of a fetus developing a heart abnormality is about 6 percent when the mother has congenital heart disease. However, each situation is unique and is largely dependent upon the type of heart defect in the mother, father or siblings. An accurate determination of the risk to the developing fetus may require genetic counseling.
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