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The method of fetal echocardiography helps diagnose congenital heart disease for babies in the prenatal stage, so pregnant women should not skip this step. In today’s article, lassho.edu.vn will mention the importance of fetal echocardiography that pregnant women need to know!
What is fetal echocardiography?
Echocardiography is a medical indication for pregnant women during pregnancy to check the health status of the fetus. The prenatal imaging method is performed by doctors with high expertise and experience in prenatal diagnosis.
In fact, more than 90% of congenital heart defects in newborns are diagnosed with fetal echocardiography during pregnancy.
When performing fetal echocardiography, high-frequency sound waves will be emitted through the ultrasound device to record images of the fetus , specifically the fetal heart position.
Fetal echocardiography is performed separately from routine fetal echocardiography. Fetal echocardiography technology produces images recorded during ultrasound , helps doctors assess the structural status of the fetal heart, and the machine also records the fetal heart rate to monitor abnormalities if any. .
Why should pregnant women have fetal echocardiography?
According to Dr. Tran Van Thu, specialist in Diagnostic Imaging, Medlatec General Hospital, each year there are about 9,000 to 10,000 children with congenital heart disease at birth , accounting for 0.8% of the total number of children born with congenital heart disease. born in the same year.
In which, up to 50% of children have very severe congenital heart disease and only half of them are operated on, the rest have to live in disease and may face death at any time. Therefore, prenatal echocardiography is very important.
When pregnant women should have an echocardiogram, they can:
Monitor your baby’s development
When going to the antenatal clinic, in addition to knowing the weight, height, and abnormalities in the body, monitoring the fetal heart is an important step to help assess the baby’s development. The heart is the most important organ in the body, if something goes wrong, it will affect other organs and seriously affect the fetus and mother.
Early detection of congenital heart disease
Infants with congenital heart disease diagnosed early in pregnancy have a higher chance of survival and surgical intervention than children who are not screened for heart defects.
Evaluation of fetal cardiovascular abnormalities
Fetal echocardiography helps doctors to screen early for structural and functional heart defects. If there are abnormalities, specialist doctors will need to consult to find solutions to minimize the effects on the baby’s health . This is the most important reason why an echocardiogram is needed.
Prenatal consultation
Fetal echocardiography is a mandatory indication in the records of pregnant women preparing to give birth. Especially for fetuses with early diagnosis and early detection of heart abnormalities, fetal echocardiography results will help doctors evaluate and discuss the best birth plan to be safe for mother and baby. .
Frequently asked questions about fetal echocardiography
When can fetal echocardiography begin?
Usually, at 6-7 weeks of pregnancy, the fetal heart begins to appear. In the early stages of pregnancy when the fetal heart appears, the fetal heart does not have a specific heart chamber shape, and continues to divide and develop. Finally, the heart has four chambers and valves. Therefore, until the 20th week of pregnancy, at this time, the fetal heart is relatively fully developed, the heartbeat is stronger and clearer.
What is the normal fetal heart rate?
According to doctors, the fetal heart rate of a healthy, normally developing fetus will fluctuate between 120-160 beats / minute. At times when the baby moves, kicks on the mother’s belly, the baby’s heart rate can now be up to 180 beats / minute. However, if the fetal heart rate is higher than 180 beats/min, the pregnant woman should immediately go to medical facilities for timely examination. Because this is most likely a sign of danger to the fetus.
Does fetal echocardiography affect the fetus?
You can rest assured when doing fetal ultrasound because this is a method that uses ultrasound waves within a safe threshold for both mother and baby. And medical indications for ultrasound are only made with the confirmation of a specialist.
Does fetal heart rate predict gender?
Many pregnant women whisper to each other that a heart rate above 140 beats / minute will be a girl, less than 140 beats / minute will be a boy. However, in fact, the sex of the fetus has absolutely nothing to do with the baby’s heart rate.
Above is the information related to the fetal ultrasound method that lassho.edu.vn wants to send to you. This is an extremely important step, so pregnant women need to go to antenatal care periodically to check the baby’s heart rate in the abdomen, especially in the last 3 months for timely intervention!
Source: Vietnam Women Newspaper
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