Anonymous wrote:Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. But I wish you and your child the very best, OP!

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Anonymous wrote:How many weeks were you when getting your fetal echo? I just had mine at 24 weeks at GW by a perinatologist from Children's Hospital. She mentioned that although they can be done anytime betwern 18 to 24 weeks, it's preferred to have them closer to the 24 week mark when the heart is more developed.

Op here. 22 weeks. I didn't know that about 24 weeks...I thought the heart was already developed pretty early. That's helpful.

When I went for my fetal echo for a baby naturally conceived bc my older has a heart defect, I had to wait until 28 weeks. They might just need baby bigger to see for sure what is going on. I was told that fetal hearts can have problems like holes that then close by themselves before birth - if we weren’t watching, we wouldn’t even know it happened. So I wouldn’t assume your baby will have a heart problem at birth yet. And, if she does, it might not impact her life much or at all, so don’t borrow trouble.

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Anonymous wrote:Op again. Thank you for that very helpful post. Therapy is a very good idea and I will find someone soon. We had been thinking about Children's here or Philly already, but are also trying to remain positive. It's such a balance between trying to put positive intentions into the world and preparing for the worst.

Children’s has the #1 NICU in the country and is a top 5 or 10 Children’s hospital overall (depending on the year; hovers around 5-6). Don’t go chasing a marginally bigger name and put yourself away from your home, you support system, etc. If you actually end up need advanced care over a period of time, you’ll be very glad you’re at home; if you don’t, you’ll be very glad you’re at home. Seriously. I’d advise differently if you lived in podunk, but Children’s is amazing… especially its NICU.

OP should research pediatric cardiology programs, not NICU especially if it turns out to be some major problem. The more serious emergency type cardiac cases are usually in the NICU only a few days max before having surgery then recover in the PICU or a dedicated pediatric cardiology unit in most hospitals. Something less severe could be managed indefinitely in the NICU before eventual surgery or even discharge home, but a good portion of the care is still coming from a pediatric cardiology team in coordination with the NICU team. That being said, most cardiac problems aren't severe emergencies and I wouldn't suggest considering leaving the area for a top 5/10 program unless after repeated scans, it was expected to be such. Good luck OP.

-former NICU nurse