Ohio State’s Adult Congenital Heart Disease in Pregnancy Program, led by a maternal fetal medicine physician specializing in high-risk pregnancies, is one of only a few programs nationwide that takes a team approach to caring for pregnant women with heart conditions. We work closely with a physician affiliated with the Women's Heart Health program at the Ross Heart Hospital who is dual board-certified in adult and pediatric cardiology, as well as an anesthesiologist specializing in obstetrics.
Together, our team works with you, your primary Ob/Gyn and your cardiologist to coordinate your care. Your primary Ob/Gyn may continue to provide routine care throughout your pregnancy or you and your doctor may choose to transfer your pregnancy care (routine exams, delivery, postpartum checkups) to us.
We’re also part of Ohio State, which means we have access to resources, equipment and support that make certain treatments possible only here. In fact, our maternal fetal medicine physicians are actively involved in clinical research, participating in developing and testing many of the screening procedures and treatments we offer.
Our Services
- Regular monitoring - Your care team and maternal fetal medicine physician continually evaluate your progress.
- Medications and procedures - Your treatment plan is designed to help maintain heart stability during pregnancy and delivery, and may include prescription medication(s) or surgical procedure(s).
- Prenatal screening and diagnosis - As part of your individualized treatment and delivery plan, you may be offered additional evaluations to identify any developmental abnormalities.
- Prematurity program - You may simultaneously be monitored as part of Ohio State’s Prematurity Program since your heart condition can put you at risk of spontaneously delivering a preterm baby.
Our Patients
We help women with congenital heart defects and acquired heart conditions who are, or wish to become, pregnant. For the majority of these women, a safe, healthy pregnancy and delivery is possible with careful management and monitoring. Our program helps women understand their pregnancy risks and provides the treatments to reduce those risks. In addition to accepting self-referrals, many primary Ob/Gyn physicians and clinics in central and southeast Ohio refer their pregnant patients to us; others come from as far away as West Virginia, Kentucky and Florida.