LOS ANGELES — Since 2000, the number of adults with congenital heart disease has shot up 63 percent – and increasingly, those who overcame heart defects as babies – are wanting babies of their own.
“The good news is that pregnant women who have complex congenital heart disease, most of these women can successfully become mothers,” said Mary Canobbio, RN with UCLA School of Nursing.
That’s the position of the American Heart Association, according to newly published recommendations. Canobbio chaired the recommendations panel.
The recommendations call for extensive testing and counseling before pregnancy, and for specialists to work as teams through delivery like cardiologists, high-risk obstetricians and surgeons.
For more information, visit the American Heart Association’s website at Https://www.goredforwomen.org/know-your-risk/birth_control_pregnancy_heart_disease/pregnancy-and-heart-disease/
