Heart abnormalities and scans

At least the scan picked up something which may not be anything. Our daughters scanned showed nothing, however, I had severe polyhydramnios which was an indicator something wasn't right. The outcome was not positive. I wish you all well🙏

How did it go? I had my baby in December and he was born with a heart condition that was never diagnosed in ultrasound

Thinking of you x

Prayers and blessing your way 🙏🏾

My baby has a rare and weird heart defect that was first detected at the 20 week scan. Requires some extra checks both pre and post birth. We'll be dealing with it for a while, but overall we still have a very healthy little boy! He's doing great and is thriving. It's definitely scary whenever there is a possible issue, but a lot of times it's nothing or something very manageable. Will be praying for you!

They're amazing! Honestly, trust them whole heartedly. They picked up at my 20 week scan my baby had CHD, if they hadn't he wouldnt be here today. So grateful. Best to know before hand. The care is incredible and they will do everything in their power to make sure you and baby are okay. Breathe, you are in good hands! X

My first born had minor heart issues - it kept skipping a beat and it was going faster than they liked - which were only picked up on while I was in labour with him 😳 It was terrifying at the time and they had to monitor him as soon as he was born. He was born full term(nearly 39 weeks) but was in and out of NICU for 5 days having his heart monitored. It ended up sounding a lot better by the time we were discharged beating at a more steady pace, and the skipping a beat also fixed itself after a couple of weeks, but I always got doctors to double check his heart even at just regular check ups for at least 6 months afterwards just to be on the safe side as it really worried me. He’s now a healthy 3.5 year old 🥰

Sending all the good energy your way, my little one had marks on his heart, but after 1 month of waiting to see a specialist, they finally got a second look and his heart is perfectly fine. My 10 week old is bouncy and sassy, praying everything goes well ❤️‍🩹

I've got a heart baby (3 years old now) it's a tough and emotional journey but things will be okay ❤ best of luck x

I had a twin pregnancy and baby b had a heart abnormality. We had to go to the dr. Every day to get a heart scan. Her heart was either extreemly slow (30bpm) or rapid fast (300bpm). We were scared her heart would just stop or she would have a heart attack. We had to be ready every day to possible be admitted to the hospital. But after a few months she worked through it. Her heart leveled out and she was born extreemly healthy. She will be two and we haven’t had any issues since. Hoping for the best with your baby!

I had to have a fetal echocardiogram when I was pregnant as I was born with a heart defect. It is fascinating looking at the little ones heart so clearly as the scanners they use are a lot clearer than the usual ones. Please don’t fret too much but it really is easier said than done! A heart abnormality is necessarily a negative thing, there are a lot of abnormalities that are very minor and the heart still functions in a totally normal and strong way. I really hope that it is all absolutely fine! Sending lots of luck. Please feel free to message me if you would like to chat more details as happy to answer any questions. x

Feel free to contact me! My youngest has many heart defects. It’s not all bad! I truly feel like they seem to make it worse than it is. I have two other friends that had the same experience.

I have a little heart baby, just turned one. There are lots of support groups out there. Tiny tickers being one that I went to a lot in the beginning. Try not to look up too much online unless It’s direct from the BHF or other supported websites. wait until you have the facts. I hope the scan goes ok and I’m here if you want to chat xx

;(. Praying for the best. My first was born with a heart defect, but it was missed on the scans and was only diagnosed after 1 year of hell and back. Now due baby number 3 and they said they will do an extra scan at 24 weeks to further check. I guess you’d rather know sooner rather than later

Yes I did require extra checks and when I went back for the scan rhey couldn't find anything. Apparently I had to scale back on the coffee and I was using cocoa butter gel when I was using the at home handheld machine to check the baby heartbeat and that was a possibility of what was causing the issue as well. Definitely praying all goes well with and for the baby and you!! 💕💕

Probably not the same but i was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect during pregnancy.. which ment i needed more scans on baby to check he had no abnormalities.. they thought they saw something in one of the echos but every scan after was fine he is now 4 months and totally fine.. he had a scan at 4 weeks and again at 12 week and again was fine but will need another when hes 12 months old.. its hard but good that your babys heart has been picked up early.. its amazing what they can do these days.. unfortunately mine wasnt picked up untill later in life and although i will be fine and now on life long medication (possible surgery as still undergoing tests due to not having a full diagnosis yet) its very scary and crazy what you can live with without actually knowing.. just remember that they will do everything they possibly can to help your baby.. good luck and i hope he/she is ok.. xxx

I know how scary that news is i was almost a wreck until before going to the appointments but remind urself that u will need ur energy in case it is bad or scary news so try to relax now while u can. * that is what i kept telling myself * proceed forward when u have more information and pace urself. Thats all u can do for right now.

Yes i had went through something with my first child, i had to go to a couple of places to get checked until they figured out one of the valves was developing smaller then the other and a few other things which they kept monitering us. Now a few years back * my oldest who is 15 now so i would say around 6 or 7 they discovered that my kiddo has a heart murmur and is checked every year to make sure everything is alright.

I have a little heart baby! She’s has a rare and complex congenital heart disease, she had open heart surgery at 3.5 weeks old and had a tough recovery. However she is now almost 8 months old and absolutely thriving!! If they find an issue, take in everything the cardiologists says and don’t be scared to ask questions. There is lots of Facebook pages that are for heart kids and or parents. All the best xx

I was born with a heart defect (atrial septal defect) aka a hole in my heart. I had open heart surgery as an infant but have lived a completely normal and active life. I am worried about passing the defect onto my son. They've done fetal echocardiograms and he has a healthy heart so far. I wish you luck! Hopefully helps you to know that people with heart abnormalities can still live happy healthy lives!

My friend went through this and it was terrifying. I don't remember exactly what was wrong, but he had a survey when he was 1, and has needed nothing else since then. He's a happy, gorgeous little guy, and because they're still growing so much you can barely even see a scar now a few years on.

My baby had regular echocardiograms throughout my pregnancy since I myself was born with a congenital heart defect whiched up the chances of my baby having 1. At one of them the doctor thought he saw something off but it turned out to be nothing. Baby boy was born healthy with no issues. ❤ I remember how nerve-racking those heart scans can be. I wish you some peace of mind & reassurance & that everything looks good in the echocardiogram. 🤗

How is your baby doing now?

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Hi. I have had regular scans. Baby is growing fine, but we won't know until he is born when he has all the checks done, what operation he will have. The hospital always plan to do the best . The good news for us is that the only concern is his heart atm, no signs of any other issues. But again, once our baby is born, he will undergo as many scans as needed for a decision on the operation required. Just keep having hope and positive thinking.

I am 29 weeks with my 3rd and I have had 3 scans since 20 weeks. My son has a heart defect, and suspected digeorge syndrome. I have to have baby in Liverpool womens hospital and baby goes straight to Alderhey. He will.need heart operation 2-4 weeks old and that is our main focus. I just hope my baby grows to the minimum requirement for the operation or he will be given a terminal diagnodis. My advise, you can't control anything. Just go with the scans , the doctors will know exactly what's going on. Don't google too much, general knowledge is OK, but don't overwhelm yourself. Too many fb groups have people over exaggerated which can overwhelm you. Whatever happens on your next scan, they will give you good and bad scenarios, just focus on the best outcome. X

They didn’t see anything wrong with my baby when I was pregnant but he was born with a murmur and had a PDA and a PFO which are valves that didn’t close all the way (causing the murmur). He had to have an echocardiogram when he was a day old and one at 2 months old, which they said the PDA closed and PFO has gotten smaller but isn’t closed all the way. We go back in November (my son will be 9 months) for another echocardiogram to see if the PFO has closed. He is extremely healthy, happy, active and you would have no idea that there’s anything abnormal going on with him. I hope you and your baby as good and healthy 💚

Not exactly the same, but my second son had “markers” for a cyst on his heart and Down’s syndrome, he was born with neither. I was also told he was measuring small, he was 9lbs at birth. Sometimes these things are unreliable, there may be hope. Please keep us updated!

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Love this! So glad your son was born healthy and strong. Thank God 🙏🏾

I can totally relate to your post, I had several specialist scans for baby because they found the heart is not on the left hand side but more in the middle of baby's chest. I also had an internal scan, they seemed really concerned which worried me in the earlier stages of the pregnancy. I cried when they told me but I'm so glad they did all the investigations. I'm due tomorrow and baby looks well and healthy, I will have a follow up when she's 8 week's to make sure things are okay. Honestly don't stress and worry, they are doing their jobs and it's best to rule out any abnormalities. Wishing you all the best xxx

Prayers for healing for your baby!! 💕

My baby's heartbeat slowed down on my checkup 2 weeks ago so (26weeks in)I was sent to the hospital right away. I was worried because I've had a miscarriage last year, but after an hour in observation I was told that everything looked good and was asked to track her kicks and also to use my home fedal dopler more often and make sure her heartbeat stays consistent.

We had the same at our 20 week scan, baby boy had an enlarged right atrium, we Had lots of testing including amniocentesis and nothing came up. They’ve told us it is an isolated issue and not caused by genetics or anything similar and hopefully shouldn’t cause any other problems. We were referred to Birmingham and have had all our scans there now at fetal medicine and I will be induced at 38-39 weeks. I am confident that it will be something that can be solved when he is born so please stay positive, it has been a very stressful pregnancy but you’ll be in the best hands! Xxxx

Actually yes. When I was 34 weeks, they brought me in for a scan to check for low fluid because I wasn't showing much. They kept me there for 2 hours until the doctor finally got there and was able to tell me that he thought the right side of my baby's heart was enlarged. I went to a pediatric cardiologist next for a fetal echo and she told me that she was positive that it was actually the left side of the heart being too small, and that the baby most likely had a coarctation of the aorta, would need surgery the week he was born, but worst case might need a set of 3 surgeries if they found more issues with the heart after birth. I was devastated and depressed. We met with one of the pediatric cardiac surgeons who told us that 75% our baby would need surgery the first week for his aorta, 25% he would need the set of 3 surgeries, and then corrected himself and said there was probably less than 1% that he would just need monitoring and no surgery.

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My baby was born and was doing great, so he didn't have to have surgery yet. He was in the PCICU and they found no reason to keep him so after a night he went to the step-down unit. We stayed there for a week while his PDA closed and they could see how his heart would function. Now we just take him to get an echo every so often to monitor his heart while it grows.

Yes my daughter they said she was missing a wall, the blood flow wasnt right, I might have to deliver in a specialized hospital all until she was born she ended up just having a small hole in her heart that sealed up on it's own thank God. Prayers for you and your baby hope it's just an error

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But at the hospital they did think she had a mummer so I did have to go to a pediatric cardiologist twice so far the last time I saw him was when she was a year old and the next time is 5 years old just to make sure it's fully closed but it was practically closed already by 1

Praying for you and baby. Hopefully all will be fine try to stay positive. I went through this four years ago with my son and he did end up having 3 heart defects. He had a very large VSD, PFO and a small aortic arch. We were in the NICU for two months after he was born. He had surgery at 5 weeks old to repair the VSD and close the PFO. They left his aortic arch alone because it was not obstructed. It was very scary and hard to go through but has made me stronger through the ecoetirnce. My son turned four this past October and is doing extremely well. So, even if there is something going on with the heart please stay positive, have faith and never give up hope. Modern medicine today is amazing and doctors, surgeons, nurses are also amazing for. The hard part is when going through stuff like this we don’t have a crystal ball to look at to see the outcome. It’s a day to day process. I feel in my heart no matter what your baby will be strong and resilient. Sending healing and positivity.

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Experience, sorry for the typo

Hey Alex, feel free to msg me if God forbid your news wasn’t good. My story with heart abnormalities didn’t end well like the others, but happy to share with you privately. Best wishes x

They thought my daughter has a heart issue as well when I went in for my 20 week anatomy scan. I went in for a repeat scan a week later and they said her heart was fine. It is extremely terrifying and I here for you! I’m so sorry you’re going through this!

Praying 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Hey I just see this how it the appointment go x

I did with my son and his heart and everything else turned out to be perfectly health

My daughter had hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Sending positive vibes your way

Not with a heart but with kidneys. They improved in the third trimester and the baby is fine. Fingers crossed for you 💓

Have faith,everything will be ok

I had a VSD when i was born and I had heart surgery to patch my hole the size of a silver dollar when i was 4mo old and im now 23 and thriving and i have 2 beautiful babies. Yes it can be scary but if your baby has anything wrong they will be fine. I have to have extra scans with every pregnancy just to make sure they aren't born with the same thing. We thought my son was gonna have a VSD but it closed up on its own before he was born. Im sending you my love, and positive vibes and i hope your baby is perfectly healthy❤

I had to have 2 echo scans for my baby due to them seeing multiple possible heart abnormalities, but in the end they said they were mistaken, he's fine. I still have to have a scan to triple check now that he's born, but I don't believe there is anything wrong with his heart. Try not to over worry, I know it's hard! Wishing you all the best.

I don't have any advice/experience with anomalies on scans as I'm only 17 weeks, but I can say the staff at the Royal Brompton are amazing. I've been with them since I was teeny all the way through to adulthood and they are one of the top heart hospitals in the country, so you and your baby are in very safe and experienced hands. Sending you hugs and lots of positive vibes xxx

Pediatric cardiac nurse for 17 years! And educator. Let me know if you have any questions.

Hey Mama, prayer’s and sending strength and positive vibes for you. My daughter had an abdominal birth anomaly seen on our 11 week scan. Because of that there are often heart issues around 30% of the time. They did a fetal echo at around 24 weeks and had some ongoing concerns but also noted that babies heart is still developing and that things like vsds can correct themselves. Baby had lots of extra scans for her belly and an mri showing small lungs. After birth she’s had 3 echos with the last showing nothing of concern! Her belly condition was “repaired” with surgery at 6.5 months. Besides being tiny and gaining weight very slowly she’s doing well. I know it’s so scary and hard to wait and worry, but try as you can not to stress too hard on concerns you may not even need to have yet. Breathe and trust your body and your baby. Babies are fighters and capable of amazing things when healthy or with challenges. 💗💗💗

I had open heart surgery when I was 9 for an ASD repair (hole in the heart). That automatically meant that my baby's heart would be closely examined during & after pregnancy. My anatomy scan with my OB was changed so that I had it with the MFM office instead as they had stronger machines. They also had a separate fetal echo performed. After about 5 appointments in one month, everything checked out and baby has a healthy heart. All babies are born with a hole in their heart but they generally close on their own within a few months after birth, something my family did not know until we went through it with me many years ago. Try to refrain from looking to Google as that will only stress you out more. Write all questions down when you think of them & bring with to ask your doctor. Technology & doctors are amazing these days & will take care of your baby if anything does happen to be wrong. I know many people that have had heart defects & surgeries and lead perfectly normal lives. Best of luck to you both!!

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Geneva, great advice. My son is a heart warrior and had open heart surgery at 5 weeks old. He was born with 3 heart defects. A large VSD that they repaired, a PFO that they closed and a small aortic arch that they left alone because it was not obstructed. It was very scary and stressful for sure but you are right the doctors and the technology they have today are amazing! My son just turned four in October and is strong, healthy and extremely energetic. So I’m praying for all you mommas that baby is going to be fine and not need any of this because it was very hard for me to go through. I’m still nervous about it happening again with my second but at least this time around I’ll know what to expect if it does. The doctors and surgeons really are amazing and help these babies.

I totally understand what you're going through right now!! I am 32 weeks, and I didn't know that my OB suspected something might be wrong with my little boy until last week. I had two sonograms previously where they said that they couldn't get the views of the heart that they needed because he was moving around so much. They told me that that was the reason that they wanted me to get a fetal echocardiogram. They then took forever to get the paperwork over to the cardiologist, so I couldn't make an appointment. Last Friday there was a new sono tech there, and she told me that they had suspected that he possibly had VSD, but I think she said that she didn't see anything. They told me they want me to get the echocardiogram just in case, and I'm like umm yeah!! I am so mad that they didn't tell me sooner that they thought they may have seen something 😠 Its ridiculous! Anyway, I understand your worry and frustration. I'm hoping everything will turn out ok for both of our babies 🤞🏻💜

🤞🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻fingers crossed 🤞🏻 & praying 🧎‍♀️ 🙏🏻 for you momma 😥 keep us posted please !

New York City story. I had a heart condition at 17.5 weeks. They said hole in the heart, confirmed with doppler, plus a marker for down syndrome. I did amniocenthesis to rule out the second horror and fetal cardiologist did not see the VSD at all. Healthy baby, im at 23 weeks now. Please do not worry and please see one or two cardiologists that do a specific ultrasound for the baby's heart. Best time to go is after week 21, earlier nothing is certain and additional visits add extra stress. Please be well and remember that many heart issues if any are resolved by themselves or treated now. ♥️ Please don't stress! Equipment is not always right.