Congenital heart defects are common diseases among newborns, and they are often associated with some of the mistakes that the mother makes during pregnancy or not taking the necessary precautions that maintain the health of the fetus and prevent it from such problems. Precautions necessary to protect the fetus from congenital heart defects as much as possible, Dr. Nevin Mamdouh, Professor of Pediatrics at Ain Shams University, advised the need to take some precautions and adhere to a number of advice before and during pregnancy, are:
You should not be exposed to any radiation or even sit next to a person exposed to radiation, because the person being treated with radiation is also a source of it.
Normal radiation should not be performed on the chest during pregnancy, as it causes birth defects in the heart, including narrowing of the pulmonary valve.
Any pregnancy medication should not be taken without consulting a doctor, not even cold or hot medicines and pain relievers.
Avoid exposure to various infections as much as possible, for example if a child has measles, mumps, or a rash of herpes that should not be sitting next to him, because viral infections are among the most important causes that lead to birth defects in the heart.
Ensure that any diseases that the mother suffers from, or at least control the disease, and prevent its activity before pregnancy, such as diabetes or lupus lupus, are treated.
The mother must receive a German measles vaccination 6 months before pregnancy, if she has not had it before.
Some types of hair dyes and creams that contain unknown substances should not be used, because they contain harmful substances that may lead to birth defects in the heart.
Mamdouh indicated that congenital heart defects often occur during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy, that is, the mother may not know from the ground that a pregnancy has occurred, so all these precautions must be taken not only during pregnancy but also during planning for it.
Foretelling signs
The pediatrician stressed the need to visit a specialist in the children''s heart when observing any of the following symptoms:
Not to increase the child''s weight at the normal rate.
• The child’s approach and increased breathing speed without a clear cause.
To find out if the child is breathing quickly or naturally, he must be seen during sleep, that is, not the time to cry or breastfeed, and focus with high and low abdomen with the breath, if more than 40 times per minute in the infant (the child is greater than 40 days to 6 Months) or more than 35 times greater than 6 months, this means that there is a speed of breathing, the cause of which must be known.
Swelling around the eyes or extremities.
• The heart rate is very fast, and feeling this when placing the hand on the child''s chest.
• The lip color on the inside or tongue tends to be bluish.
In some cases, none of these symptoms may appear and congenital heart defects are discovered in children by the doctor when an abnormal sound is heard on the heart to request the work of certain tests, Mamdouh clarified that the required tests to ensure that the child has birth defects in the heart or not, is represented in : Heart drawing, TV rays on the heart.
