Post-Natal Cardiac Management of the Fetus with Congenital Heart Disease

Abstract

Prenatal detection of congenital heart disease (CHD) has improved over the past decade. Antenatal diagnosis of CHD allows parental counselling regarding fetal intervention, post-natal surgical options, more intensive pregnancy surveillance, delivery planning and immediate post-natal management. Accurate risk stratification can be performed for fetuses with CHD aiming to reduce perinatal and postnatal morbidity and mortality. For the baby with CHD who is likely to need cardiac intervention in the neonatal period, multidisciplinary coordination involving fetal medicine specialists, obstetricians, neonatologists and fetal/paediatric cardiologists is facilitated. In this chapter, the risk stratification for delivery of fetuses with CHD and the long-term considerations about postnatal cardiac management of CHD are discussed.