Читать книгу Assisted Reproduction Techniques - Группа авторов - Страница 107

1  Q1 Is the pregnancy likely to make my heart disease worse? A1. Every woman with heart disease is different and should undergo preconception counseling by a cardiologist or obstetric physician trained to look after pregnant women with heart disease. Patients who have no or only minimal symptoms tend to do well during pregnancy, and there are very few women who need to be advised against pregnancy. Some women may require more frequent checks, and some may need to be delivered earlier than at term – the specialist team looking after you will advise if this is necessary. Formal assessment of cardiac reserve with exercise stress echo can be used before assisted reproduction to better inform prepregnancy counseling.

2  Q2 Will the medication I have been prescribed harm my baby? A2. Any medication prescribed by the specialist team looking after you is given to make the pregnancy safer for you and your baby. If you are prescribed a medication, which could potentially harm your baby, your specialist should alert you to this and discuss alternatives if there are any. Cardio‐selective betablockers are generally safe although may reduce the birth weight of the baby by 200g (which is not usually significant).

3  Q3 Can I have a normal delivery, or will I need a cesarean section? A3. This very much depends on your cardiac condition. For most women with cardiac disease a vaginal delivery is appropriate; however, for women with severely impaired ventricular function, for example, a cesarean section may be necessary. Your specialist team will advise you what is best for you and your baby.