At 19 weeks pregnant, I strolled into the Mariposa Perinatal Services office with a bit of a knot in my stomach. There was a lot of uncertainty in this visit. While previous scans showed nothing to worry about, the reason I had to see the high-risk doctor was enough to give me anxiety. My previous pregnancy, though no issues were detected in any sonograms, resulted in a surprise congenital heart defect diagnosis for my son at birth. The first year of life, in simple terms, was incredibly challenging. Between shock from the diagnosis and surgeries no mother ever desires to watch her child go through, I got very little sleep that year. I can’t forget to mention, it was 2020 – the year of the infamous COVID pandemic.
At 19 weeks, a high-risk specialist can do a targeted ultrasound where he can detect early issues of the heart, even though the life-giving organ is only the size of a fingertip.
The kind and informative doctor gave me a reassuring rundown of how he was going to look closely at the heart. Most of it was far above my head, but I felt comforted that he was familiar with heart conditions and knew how to find them.
After a thorough 30-minute sonogram, the news was all good – no issues detected in the heart or any other organs.
The sonogram – being the most high-definition one I’ve ever seen – also left no doubt that we are having another baby boy. This makes number three for us. I am thrilled to continue being a boy mom and am most grateful he is healthy.
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