Monday, November 23, 2009

Level II Ultrasound


 AJ kissing the placenta

Today was my appointment with a high risk pregnancy doctor for my level II ultra sound. I am 23 weeks. It was confirmed baby has a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Ultra sound showed stomach up in the chest area. Dr. is referring me to Stanford for follow up testing so that does tell me this is a big deal.

I'm still learning about this "never heard of" defect and have so many questions. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. From what I've read online, some cases are okay and some or deadly.

Friday, November 13, 2009

When I found out my baby was sick

Today I had my ultra sound to find out the baby's sex. IT'S A BOY! Which is what I wanted and already felt I knew since I had a dream I was having a boy.

A few hours after my ultra sound, my ob/gyn called me. It was a Friday afternoon (Friday the 13th at that!) and she wanted me to come see her Monday. I just knew something was wrong and demanded she tell me over the phone. She then told me that it looks as though baby has a hernia but we'll need to have a level II ultra sound to confirm....and not to worry. Well of course I WORRIED and researched fetal hernias online. I saw some references to Congential Diaphragmatic Hernia but thought, "No, that can't be the same type of hernia she's referring too?" I was thinking more along the lines of a testicle hernia or something like that. But I was still anticipating my appointment for the level II ultra sound to confirm.

What is Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH)?

Congenital means "born with" and a hernia is a problem where something goes through a hole it is not supposed to. The hole is in baby's diaphragm. The diaphragm is a muscle that helps us to breathe and keeps the organs in the abdomen from going into the chest cavity.

This link provides a good description of CDH:

http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site476/mainpageS476P0.html