Can women with congenital heart disease give birth?

Most women with congenital heart disease hope to be able to get pregnant and give birth to a healthy and successful baby. So can women with heart disease give birth? Is congenital heart disease hereditary? Refer to the article below for more information on this issue.

Congenital heart disease, also known as congenital heart defects, is a defect of the heart valves, heart muscle, and chambers of the heart that occurs from the time of conception and persists until after birth. Some of the structures of the heart will be defective at this time, resulting in the function and functioning of the heart will be affected.

During pregnancy, the amount of blood will increase from 30 to 50% to be able to nourish the fetus, so the heart has to pump more blood and from there the heart rate also increases. During labor and delivery, the workload of the heart also increases, especially during the pushing process, there will be sudden changes in blood flow. So when a mother is pregnant, it puts a lot of pressure on the heart and circulatory system. So whether women with heart disease can give birth depends on each specific case.
Cardiovascular disease has many forms with levels from mild to severe. For women with mild heart disease, pregnancy probably won't affect much. However, in severe and untreated cases, good control before pregnancy can lead to an increased risk of death for both mother and baby.
Women with congenital heart disease who have undergone treatment and are currently in stable heart health can still get pregnant. However, this pregnancy will be influenced by many factors such as the type of heart disease, history of surgery, severity of the disease and whether there is increased pressure on the pulmonary arteries. In the case of pulmonary hypertension, pregnancy is not recommended, as it may increase the risk of maternal mortality.

The first problem encountered in children when the mother has congenital heart disease is that the baby may be born with a lower birth weight. Due to the ineffective functioning of the mother's heart leading to insufficient oxygen and nutrition supply to the placenta, the baby's health will be reduced and there is a possibility that the baby will be born prematurely. These babies are born weak, have very poor resistance to the environment outside the mother's uterus, so they are prone to infections, pneumonia, or asphyxiation. In addition, in mothers with congenital heart disease can cause malformations in the fetus. Congenital heart disease is not an inherited condition, so a mother with heart disease and her baby probably won't have it, unless pregnancy affects the mother's genetic factors such as rubella, influenza, and certain cancers. Other diseases cause birth defects in young children. In addition, depending on the type of heart disease that a pregnant woman has, for example, Marfan syndrome can give birth to a child that will be inherited. If the mother has congenital heart disease and no defects after surgery, there is a 4-6% chance of the baby being born with a congenital heart defect. Before babies are born, heart defects may already be present. In these cases, the doctor will discuss with the pregnant woman and the patient's family thoroughly about your pregnancy and your baby's health problems and make the best choice for you. If the chance is only 50%, the patient should not get pregnant. It will endanger the mother's life in case of too large atrial septal defect, severe pulmonary hypertension.

Whether pregnant women have mild or severe heart disease, pregnancy makes the disease worse and may appear complications such as:
Acute pulmonary edema: cyanosis, severe shortness of breath, auscultation of the lungs. lots of wet rales, coughing up blood. Acute heart failure: irregular heartbeat, tachycardia, palpitations, shortness of breath. Cardiac arrhythmias: sinus tachycardia, extrasystole, complete arrhythmia. Pulmonary embolism: very rare, but if present, occurs suddenly and leads to death very quickly. Infection: usually occurs after birth, causing bacterial infection and inflammation of the endocardium of the heart.

Pregnancy puts a lot of pressure on the heart. If women are suffering from congenital heart disease, it is necessary to have regular and regular checkups to understand the possible risks during pregnancy.
Most women with congenital heart disease want to be able to get pregnant and give birth. However, it is important to assess the situation and extent of the disease before deciding whether to conceive or not.
If the health situation is positive, the woman with congenital heart disease has been treated or has a mild disease and is able to get pregnant, during pregnancy, pregnant women need to strictly comply the doctor's instructions, regular and regular checkups, nutrition and healthy living schedule, to have a healthy pregnancy.