5-minute read
A young mom is faced with life or death decisions soon after learning her son’s diagnosis of spina bifida and hydrocephalus. She tells us her heartwarming story.
Fetal Health Foundation Medical Advisory Board member Dr. Timothy Crombleholme, MD, who leads the Fetal Care Center at Connecticut Children’s, shares six important details to consider when your baby needs fetal intervention not just to survive, but to thrive.
Video: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia, or CDH, and treatment options were the topics of conversation for experts from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
CDH affects 1,600 babies in the U.S. each year. In CDH, a hole in the diaphragm allows abdominal organs to move upwards into the chest during development, crowding the lungs and inhibiting their proper growth. Underdeveloped lungs and blood vessels that supply the lungs can cause high blood pressure in the lungs, asthma, gastrointestinal reflux, feeding disorders and developmental delays in childhood survivors of CDH.
“In severe cases of CDH, the survival rate is ranging from less than 20% to 50%, but with FETO, we’re seeing a huge improvement in odds of survival,” said Dr. Lim. “Right now, it looks like survival rates as high as 80-90% are possible, but we’re still learning.”
Fetal Health Foundation Medical Advisory Board member Dr. Ahmet Baschat and 2015 Recipient of the Brianna Marie Memorial Research grant Dr. Jena Miller are co-authors of a new Johns Hopkins Center for Fetal Therapy study that gives hope to families experiencing a diagnosis of fetal congenital diaphragmatic hernia.