Does heart disease during pregnancy have any impact on the fetus?

After a woman becomes pregnant, she will pay special attention to the baby in her belly and hope that it can be healthy. When she has some diseases, she will also worry about whether it will affect the health and development of the fetus. Heart disease is a disease that is relatively common in the human body. Pregnant women are also prone to this disease. So does pregnancy with heart disease have any impact on the fetus? Let's introduce it in detail below.

Heart disease in pregnant women mainly affects themselves. It will increase the burden on the heart during pregnancy and may lead to heart failure. If it is not too serious, it will not directly affect the fetus. It also needs to be determined based on the specific severity of the heart disease and the condition of the heart function.

In fact, if a pregnant woman suffers from heart disease, whether during pregnancy, delivery or postpartum period, the cardiovascular system will be responsible for a heavy burden, which may lead to worsening of heart disease and even serious consequences. During pregnancy, as the uterus becomes larger, the fetus develops and the mother's metabolism changes, blood volume gradually increases, reaching its peak at 7-8 months. Cardiac output also increases accordingly, the blood is diluted, the concentrations of red blood cells and hemoglobin decrease, and the oxygen transport capacity weakens, resulting in an increase in heart rate, the heart moving upward and to the left, increased right ventricular pressure, and buckling of large blood vessels. During labor, breath holding increases the pressure in the lungs and the resistance of the pulmonary circulation. After delivery, due to the sudden drop in abdominal pressure and uterine contraction, venous blood return may suddenly increase. A few days after delivery, excess water retained in the tissues enters the blood circulation, causing blood volume to increase again. All these factors will increase the burden on the heart, which normal pregnant women can bear. However, patients with heart disease are prone to heart failure during the 32nd to 40th week of pregnancy, before delivery, and within 1-3 days after delivery.

Therefore, pregnant mothers should pay attention to various phenomena during pregnancy, and also do the following:

1. Strengthen prenatal examinations, which should start in early pregnancy. The number and intervals of examinations should be determined by the doctor. If the condition worsens, you should seek medical attention at any time and be hospitalized if necessary.

2. Regular check-ups are required after pregnancy. Data suggest that the incidence and mortality rates of heart failure in pregnant women with heart disease who have not undergone prenatal check-ups are several times or even 10 times higher than those who have undergone prenatal check-ups. The specific examination time is: once every two weeks in the first 5 months of pregnancy, and once a week in the last 5 months. Patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease and poor heart function should be hospitalized before the expected date of delivery so that they can be carefully observed and examined to identify problems and deal with them in a timely manner.

3. Pay attention to rest. During the 3rd to 4th month of pregnancy, you can do some light work and housework. If you experience symptoms such as shortness of breath, palpitations, or chest tightness, you should rest immediately and stop working. In the middle and late stages of pregnancy, you should pay more attention to rest. However, you can take a walk, sweep the floor... In short, as long as you don't experience symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, and palpitations, it's fine.

4. Arrange your daily work and life, get at least 10 hours of sleep a day, avoid excessive fatigue, and prevent excessive emotional excitement.