According to the March of Dimes, one in 125 babies born in the United States has a congenital (present at birth) heart defect — a problem that occurred as the baby’s heart was developing during pregnancy, before the baby is born. Congenital heart defects are the most common birth defects.

A baby’s heart begins to develop at conception, but is completely formed by eight weeks into the pregnancy. Congenital heart defects happen during these crucial first eight weeks of the baby’s development. Specific steps must take place in order for the heart to form correctly. Often, congenital heart defects are a result of one of these crucial steps not happening at the right time, leaving a hole where a dividing wall should have formed, or a single blood vessel where two ought to be, for example.

The vast majority of congenital heart defects have no known cause. Mothers will often wonder if something they did during the pregnancy caused the heart problem. In most cases, nothing can be attributed to the heart defect. Some heart problems do occur more often in families, so there may be a genetic link to some heart defects. Some heart problems are likely to occur if the mother had a disease while pregnant and was taking medications, such as anti-seizure medicines. However, most of the time, there is no identifiable reason as to why the heart defect occurred.

UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital Recognized for excellence

  • The Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of echocardiography Laboratories (ICAeL) recently reaccredited UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital’s pediatric echo- cardiography lab. Currently, only 178 pediatric laboratories in the United States have achieved this prestigious accredi- tation for adhering to high quality standards.
  • The extracorporeal Life Support Organization has awarded the excellence in Life Support Award to the extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Center at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. The Center’s surgeons often use pediatric ECMO — technology that takes over the function of the heart and lungs — during and after surgery for CHDs.