Our baby has a Ventricular Septal Defect

[dog groomer89]

Hello all, I am new to this forum and thought I would share our recent story and see if anyone else has the same issues as my little boy.  I gave birth to our son two weeks ago and they induced me at 38 weeks.  It was very sudden and unexpected since I haven't had any issues or problems my entire pregnancy.  At my 37 week ultrasound, my O/B said that my baby was measuring about 3 weeks behind and he wanted me to have a second level ultrasound done just to make sure my baby was getting the nutrients he needs and to make sure he was growing ok.  (he wasn't worried though, because I am a very small person to begin with, so baby might just be small too.)  So the day that I turned 38 weeks, I had the second level ultrasound done and we got some very unexpected news.  The baby was growing fine, but it turns out he has a heart problem, a two vessel blood cord, and a pelvic kidney.  We were shocked and very worried to say the least.  They couldn't tell us much more until the next day when we actually got to speak with a pediatric cardiologist and had another ultrasound done on his heart.  Once it was over, they told us that our baby's heart was in the center of his chest and that he has a ventricular septal defect, and also two small holes at the opening of the left ventricle.  They weren't worried about the pelvic kidney, as long as it was functional.   They also told us that they were going to induce me the following morning at 2 a.m.  It was pretty stressful to go your whole pregnancy thinking everything was fine, and then find out all this information a day before they induce.  I was able to have him naturally, but they took him away to Children's Hospital right after he came out.  He weighed exactly 5 pounds.  Thankfully we only had to stay in the NICU for about 5 days before they sent us home for the time being.  He is doing well so far, but is being closely followed by cardiology to see if his heart becomes a problem within the first year.  I was just wondering if anyone else here had experienced something similar?

[sere234]

Well, we're in a similar situation. Our kiddo was born at home at 41.5 weeks but choked and aspirated mucus later that night so we ended up in the NICU for a week with pnemonia. Found out there that he has ASD and VSD but that it's minor enough that he should outgrow it. We have an appointment in February for a follow up visit and will ask how big the holes are and more specific questions that we now want to know. 

Is your son gaining weight normally? Seems like our kiddo is but we watch him closely for any breathing issues. We know it's not a huge problem for him since the holes are small but STILL. Kinda makes us a little wary to leave his side any time.

Hope all is going well with you! Congrats on your baby!

[AmandaT]

I just wanted to add that my DD was born with a very small VSD- about 1mm. I was told about 2% of babies are born with this, and it usually resolves on its own. That area is open in all fetuses when they are developing, and sometimes it doesn't close by the time they are born.

Did they tell you how large the VSD was, and if they expected it to close on its own? 

We were told that even if my DD's VSD did not close, it was so small that it would not effect her life in any way (no need for meds, she could participate in any sport she wanted, etc). When we did the follow-up at 6 months with the cardiologist it had closed and that was the end of it for us- I hope your story is similar!