CHD in Babies and Pregnancies- What It Is & What It Does

CHD in babies or a congenital heart disease in general means a particular defect in the heart that took place in the womb, while the pregnancy was under the term.

CHD symptoms aren’t very loud, which puts it into the category of ‘difficult to recognize’.

With the medical advances of this time, CHD is not the natural killer it once was. However, it continues to be fatal for those who get the severe version.

What Causes CHD in Babies

Mostly, something went wrong while the baby was getting formed inside the mother’s womb. Faulty chromosomal or genetic scenarios could also be responsible for a heart defect or occurrence of issues during early development of the foetus.

While some causes can be spotted, labelled, and categorised, in several patients, it proves difficult to pinpoint a single CHD cause.

When a woman is pregnant, the risk factors that enhance a chance of CHD in babies involve Rubella, diabetes (type 1 or 2), and certain dangerous medications like isotretinoin.

Detecting CHD in Children

In the present time, it is possible to pick up signals that hint towards the presence of any congenital heart disease during the ultrasound. There is also the chance that the disease would show itself only after the baby is born, maybe even after the baby has become a teenager or an adult.

With CHD, the most mind-boggling factor is its feature of being somewhat unique. Every patient at some point has a form of CHD that is distinctive. Custom situations demand custom medications, and well, that can become hard to realise at times.

Apart from ultrasound, an MRI, EKG, X-Ray or cardiac catheterization are among other means of detecting congenital heart conditions.

What Happens When the Ultrasound Is Positive

The mother and team are asked to go through some more screening tests. A fetal medical unit might be brought in. A child cardiac specialist is informed, and procedures are placed to ensure that the disease in fact exists.

On confirmation, the mother is notified of the condition, the severity, the long-term outlook, the required procedures, and how each one of the factors mentioned above could affect the baby.

What Happens to a Baby That Has CHD

Treatment for CHD in infants depends on the kind and degree of their condition. Medication suffices for some; surgery does the trick for others. Some defects heal in their own time.

However, it’s only fair to say that there is a lifetime of care and medical assistance attached to a person who has CHD of any sort.

The Outlook Is Better Today

Be it India or other countries, CHD in babies has seen improvement regarding saving lives. Where it was normal for eight out of ten children to die of this condition a few decades back, presently the same number of people grow up into adulthood with treatment because of the enhanced medical services.