I have always known that I would someday, somehow, become a mother. However it wasn’t until I was truly ready that I really thought about my situation (CHD – Tricuspid Atresia), and how it may present some challenges along the way. Being a survivor of CHD, as well as post-Fontan, there are naturally some extra precautions and worries when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth.
When my husband and I decided to start
a family, the first order of business was to speak with my cardiologist and get
his thoughts. He assured me that all of my EKGs and Echo’s had been normal (or
rather, normal for me), and that as far as being pregnant goes, I was in the
best shape I could be. He did say that it would be very hard to tell exactly
what was going to happen. Maybe I would need to be on bed rest, I may need a
c-section, may need to go on extra medication, etc. But he was confident that
with the proper care and follow up, we would be able to face any challenges as
they come. With that, my husband and I were given the “go ahead” to board the
baby train.
About a year later I was pregnant.
During pregnancy, I had regular checkups with my cardiologist, as well as a
perinatologist, which is an OBGYN that specializes in “high risk” cases. I will
say right now, I was extremely fortunate to have about as normal of a pregnancy
as any other woman out there. I was never on bed rest, I did prenatal yoga,
commuted to San Francisco (I live about an hour out of the city) for work,
never had any swelling, and very little “morning” sickness. I had many more
ultrasounds than the average person, which I loved because it meant seeing my
baby, and the results were always good. Since I have a CHD, the risk that my
baby would have one is slightly higher (I believe the doctor estimated about a
5% chance). We wanted to be prepared for anything that may go wrong, so we did
all of the genetic testing, minus an amnio, and during our ultrasounds my
doctor was able to zoom in on the baby’s heart. We were relieved to see that
the baby had all parts, where they should be and functioning properly. All and
all, mommy and baby had a wonderful, healthy pregnancy.
As for childbirth, the main thing the
doctors were concerned about was the pain and I was told I must get an epidural.
This honestly was not a problem for me, as I planned on getting that bad boy
anyway! A few weeks before my due date, my doctor put an order in to the
anesthesiologist in the L&D department of the hospital, so they would be
aware of my situation and the fact that pain management would need to be a top
priority for me. A c-section was
something they would do if necessary, but it was a measure that myself and the
doctor wanted to avoid. C-section is a surgery, and with any surgery there is a
much greater risk of infection, and it is hard for your body to recover. When it came time to deliver there were some
bumps in the road, things that didn’t happen exactly as planned (not CHD
related), but I was able to deliver naturally, and on 12/1/2010 at 6:36pm I
held my beautiful healthy baby boy in my arms.
Now that my son is almost two years
old, baby fever has struck again and my husband and I have been talking about
baby no. 2. I recently started seeing a new cardiologist, an Adult Congenital
Heart doctor, who is a bit more precautious in terms of what she thinks I can
handle. She has had me do some tests to see where I’m at, and make sure my body
can handle another pregnancy. After a 24 hour heart monitor, MRI and exercise
test, she has given me a “thumbs up”. She did, however, let me know that after
the next baby I should probably not have any more. With each pregnancy, there
is that much more stress on the body, and more possibilities of complications. There
is a small part of me that is nervous to get pregnant again, especially since
we were so unbelievably lucky the first time. However, I trust my doctors, I
feel great, and I have faith that we will be able to overcome anything that may
be thrown our way. I feel so blessed to have one healthy child, and am hopeful
for one more.
