ASD — sometimes referred to as a hole in the heart — is a type of congenital heart defect in which there is an abnormal opening in the dividing wall between the upper filling chambers of the heart (the atria).
I spoke to people about it to gain insight and to ask if they know of anyone who has had a baby with ASD. Friends reassured me that the baby will be fine and that there is enough technology and medicine out there that is available to address this medical issue. Sometimes it resolves itself as well, little by little, while the baby is already born. My worries were somewhat appeased
I was scheduled to have a secondary (more specialized) ultrasound a week after my OB called me. We went to see a Perinatologist. The ultrasound technician in the clinic asked me why we were there today and we (my husband and I) said that we were there that day because we were referred by my OB to have the Perinatologist check on the baby's heart. The nurse went through my file, flipped some papers and then said, "Oh okay, I guess we are going to check on the baby's heart and did your OB mention anything about having us check your baby's head?". My husband and i were both caught off guard... WHAT ABOUT OUR BABY'S HEAD?
The ultrasound technician poked and prodded on my belly and took measurements and pictures. When the Perinatologist came to check on me he said ( and he did zoom in on my baby's heart) that he does not think that there is anything wrong with my baby's heart, but just to make sure he will refer us to Stanford to have Cardiology check on my baby's heart prenatally. He also talked about finding 2 cysts (ventricular cysts) in my baby's brain (on this he also zoomed in to show us), but he thinks that the cyst appears to not be pressing on any brain structures. He will also do referral to have this double checked as well.
There was also a discussion regarding the concern about the baby's size. The doctor said that the baby was measuring "abnormally small". My husband and I both defensively said that both of us are small people and my first pregnancy was not really big either. The doctor said that our size may be a valid reason for the baby being small and that I was just probably predisposed to having small babies OR there is something wrong with the fetus and that is why it didn't grow as much.
I guess my expression was that of confusion and shock that the doctor needed to tell me that " Well at least we ruled out concerns with your baby's heart". But that didn't really appease me.... the hole in the heart felt to be a much better option than the cysts in the brain.
The only highlight of this day,was that I got to see my baby's face for the very first time.
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