Chamber defect?

We had an ultrasound done at around 19 weeks. I noticed that the technician kept taking pics of his heart. I am a nurse and I try to keep that turned off when it comes to my own care (or my babys). But, I noted the heart chambers on the u/s screen and they looked good to me. All the chambers were present along with the valves. Per the tech, his heartbeat was strong. So I asked the tech if anything was wrong, she stated he was really moving around in there, but nothing seemed out of the norm. One week later, we went to our regular ob appt and basically he said something was out of whack with the babys heart chambers. He was very vague and made the statement that hes's "not a cardiology speacialist". We have a consult appt in two weeks, should I be worried? What conditions can cause this chamber irregularity?

[rdh1981]

At 18 weeks we found out my son Cooper, was missing the bottom part of his left chamber. He was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. We had to see a cardiologist several times during my pregnancy.

After Cooper was born he was immediately taken to Children's Hosptial to undergo the first of his three surgeries.  Due to Cooper's anatomy they trouble with "correcting his little heart", so they had to do surgery three times. Sadly, my little man lost his life due to some kind of infections from all the foreign things that were put into his body.  (tubes, shunts and etc)

I am not telling you this to scare you, I just want you to stay on top of your doctor. My Ob is a high risk doctor so he was on top of his game the whole time. Heart defects are nothing to play around with. Cooper had the worst heart condition out there, he only had a 1% chance of getting and poor little guy he did.  

I wish you the best of luck and I would be more than happy to share any information with you if you like.  Please remember every case is different and every baby is different, so PLEASE do not think the worst!  

Rachel

[sl629]

How did he due the rest of the pregnancy after being diagnosed? How long did you get the gift of having your angel on this earth?
I am soooo sorry.

Stacey

[rdh1981]

Hey Stacey,

During my pregnancy Cooper functioned just like a "normal" baby! His heartrate was always between 140-180. He was very active and rolled across my belly all day long.  

We had about 7 weeks with Cooper.  I do not blame the doctor's for anything. They were wonderful and well experienced men. We saw several children there that also had HLHS and they were doing great. Many of them were over three and there for their last surgery.

I understand your fear, believe me. I am now currently 14weeks and I can't wait to get the big scan to see the heart.  

Just know that your baby is not suffering inside of you and your baby will not suffer after delivery the medical team makes great efforts to ensure this.

I am here whenever you need, please feel free to ask as many question as you like.  

Keep in touch!

[sl629]

Its so amazing to me that while in us, babie are carefree and doing great. But then when its time to embark upon "true" life, sometimes they dont do so well. It saddens me. It sounds like you have truly been able to deal with your loss in a healthy way. Thank you for sharing and I appreciate the assistance you have offered. I'll keep you posted.

Good luck. BTW, I really like the name Cooper. Im thinking it will be put on my top 5 list.

[Kaptenskan]

I know how upsetting it is when doctors say things without explaining what it means... I had a scan w 8 (7+0) and the doc told me the brain ventricles was too large in some way. The doc told me she was going to show the pics to a more experienced doc. I was cold inside... struck with fear (and still am). They called me back and the they told me not to worry... but I insisted on a scan w 11. Now I am terrified something is wrong. I just wanted to say I know how you are feeling, I do not know about the state of your baby´s heart, but I wish you all the best.

Hong in there.

Love